Annual meeting with youth organisations and Federal Environment Minister Carsten Schneider

Representatives from the Federation of German Rural Youth, BUNDjugend, the Youth Section of the German Alpine Club, NAJU and the Nature Friends Youth presented their views at the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Protection, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN). They made it clear that, even under difficult conditions, young people in youth organisations remain enthusiastic about volunteering, democratic participation and socially and environmentally just environmental and nature conservation. At the same time, they reported growing challenges posed by far-right attacks, multiple crises, rising costs and a lack of sufficient funding for youth organisations over many years, which is creating further uncertainty.

The youth organisations emphasised that a strong, democratic civil society is a prerequisite for effective climate, nature and environmental protection. They called for an increase in funding for organisations from the Federal Ministry for the Environment, for the funding levels to be adjusted in line with price rises, and for the Federal Cabinet to advocate for reliable funding for recognised youth environmental and nature conservation organisations. This also includes, as announced in the coalition agreement, an increased and dynamic federal children’s and youth plan, which provides youth environmental and nature conservation organisations with the necessary planning certainty for their work at federal level.

Another key focus of the discussion was meaningful and effective youth participation. Using the example of the Alpine Convention, which is currently under the German Presidency, the youth organisations emphasised the importance of funding programmes that enable genuine participation by young people in environmental policy processes. Such programmes create spaces for young people’s perspectives, environmental education and international cooperation. At the same time, the youth organisations made it clear that the application process and project administration often involve a high level of bureaucratic and personnel effort; they therefore called for the reduction of red tape and the modernisation of the state, without compromising technical standards or environmental and nature conservation concerns.

Furthermore, the youth organisations discussed areas of overlap with other federal ministries and with the work of the Federal Government as a whole. Among other things, they addressed the Fertiliser Ordinance, the EU Recovery Regulation, the Common Agricultural Policy, as well as concerns about a rollback of environmental and nature conservation standards and the loss of important funding programmes. With regard to climate protection and energy policy, the youth organisations made it clear that international legal obligations, national climate targets and political action must be more closely aligned. They called for the phasing out of fossil fuel subsidies and a clear commitment to renewable energy.

The youth organisations expressed their satisfaction with the open dialogue on an equal footing and the objective, substantive exchange with Federal Environment Minister Carsten Schneider. 
Wendelin Haag, Chair of the Bundesjugendring, emphasised: “The Federal Ministry for the Environment’s openness to youth participation and its willingness to incorporate young people’s perspectives into environmental and climate policy processes is of great significance. The fact that the meeting with youth organisations has been a fixed item on the senior management’s agenda for many years is also an important signal of the ongoing cooperation between the Ministry and youth organisations.”