Youth Advisory Climate Councils: The Case of Galiza (Spain)

This chapter explores the experience of the Youth Advisory Climate Councils in Galiza (Spain), established within the framework of the European project People & Planet: A Common Destiny (2020–2024). The initiative aimed to foster youth participation in local decision-making processes related to sustainability and climate change. Through participatory methodologies, the Youth Advisory Climate Council enabled young people aged 15–35 to design and implement concrete actions, including awareness campaigns, community-based initiatives, and policy proposals addressed to local governments. Drawing on documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews with project coordinators and facilitators, the study reveals positive impacts on youth participants, facilitators, and municipal stakeholders. However, it also identifies challenges such as generational diversity, maintaining long-term engagement, limited resources, and the need for greater institutional coordination. Despite these obstacles, the Youth Advisory Climate Council are presented as innovative and disruptive socio-educational structures that promote youth empowerment and facilitate their integration into local governance. The chapter concludes by emphasizing the importance of sustained institutional commitment to ensure the continuity of such initiatives as effective responses to the climate emergency. It also highlights the need for future research incorporating youth perspectives and insights from other project partners.