text: Hello, My name is Anne-Sofie and I am a part of the Youth Climate Council of Aalborg. We represent young people from the age of 15 to 25, with a focus on pushing the municipality and politicians of Aalborg, in a greener direction. Sometimes these politicians also find themselves in a situation where they want to listen to the youth. When the department of city planning design a new park, they may ask us- or the youth city council -what will make the youth use the park. (because even though the mayor is young, he might not really be up to date on the trends in skateboarding). But we also have opinions on things that is not relevant to us because of our age, but relevant because we are also citizens here in Aalborg, and we will live with the consequences of the decisions the politicians make now - whether we are old enough to vote or not.
  One thing to focus on if - hopefully when- you make your own Youth Climate Councils is that a clear purpose and clear assignments, make it so much easier for young people to use their energy productively. A lot of time and energy is wasted when a group of teenagers have to discover and navigate a municipalties different chains of commands, and areas of responsibility, before we can start the work.
  Young people do not only have lots of opinions, but are also a great resource of ambitious people, who bring new perspectives and ideas to the table, which can become reality if the people in power realize the potential. But for these ideas to grow, we need resources, we need knowledge, and we need responsibility.  Aalborg municipality supports us through funding,  and we have a standing offer of offices and civil servants who we can use. The important thing is, that we are independent from the municipality but can choose the amount of support we receive.
  Nonetheless, we experience challenges with recruitment, clear tasks ( like what are we even doing?)  and visibility, so that both young people know about us - but also the decision makers  who could use a bit of advice.
  Our Youth Climate Council has made 20 recommendations to the city council, about everything from biodiversity demands in Public Parks to reducing the number of parking spots in the City Center.
  My personal favorite recommendation is to reduce the amount of meat used in the municipality's kitchens and canteens by 50 %. The municipality has listened, and that has resulted in 2 meat free days a week, and an overall reduction on 25% Co2 emission  in the canteens.  Our next goal, is for the municipality to carry out  shadow pricing, on all purchases above seven-thousand euros, so that the most sustainable option can compete with the cheap unsustainable option. So Lasse, our dear mayor, we are looking forward to working more with you.
  