Teenagers across Newcastle have been invited to build the foundations of the city’s green economy in a Youth Climate Summit hosted by the council.
The annual event was hosted by Newcastle City Council at the Discovery Museum last week with secondary school students joining city councillors to give their views on Net Zero.
The event was attended by over 100 young people who heard from speakers representing a wide range of industries.
One of the workshops experienced a visit to the heat network at the discovery museum to explain about the low carbon options for heating and there was a moving performance from Company of Others, who demonstrated the climate emergency through dance.
The city council’s net zero team also used the event as an opportunity to launch a Guide to Green Careers in the North East for young people to help educate young people on the pathways and opportunities they can take to get into the green sector in Newcastle.
Cllr Marion Williams, our Cabinet Member for a Sustainable city, said: “It was fantastic to see so many young people attend our youth summit.
"They all came fully prepared to take part the workshops around key themes linked to climate change such as waste, biodiversity, and active travel.
"I hope they all enjoyed the day and took away valuable knowledge about how their future actions and careers can support the move to net zero.
"It was also great to highlight the green careers that will be open to young people as we hope to build an inclusive economy with a foundation in green and blue industries.”
One of the speakers, Annie Edwards, of Climate Action Newcastle said: “I came to talk to young people about the different impacts that environmental breakdown has and how to make sure everyone is included in the solutions.
"I was pleasantly surprised how aware and engaged they were with climate issues, both in the UK and globally. They all put forward really good opinions and ideas and interacted really well with one another.”
This annual event is aimed at 14 to 18-year-olds and this year focused on interactive workshops on climate change subjects ranging from action in schools, green energy, food, biodiversity, transport and waste.
Attendees also had access to information about a wide range of industries and occupations offering green careers including engineering, construction and manufacturing to science and creative arts.
To read the careers guide see the:
We would like to thank everyone who was involved in the event, especially our elected Youth Council and Parliament for all their support in creating a successful event.
If you would be interested in attending a future Youth Climate Summit please: