Committee approves creation of Youth Advisory Council on Climate Change and Environmental Conservation

The Committee on Transportation and the Environment advanced Bill 26-66, the Youth Advisory Council on Climate Change and Environmental Conservation Establishment Act of 2025, at an additional meeting Thursday, Sept. 25, approving the committee report and committee print with direction for staff to make technical editorial and conforming changes.

Chairman and Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen said the bill would give young residents a formal advisory role on district climate and environmental policy and on green workforce development. “Young people are not just tomorrow's leaders, they are already today's advocates, and they deserve a seat at the tables where the district's climate and environmental policies are determined,” Allen said.

The bill would create a Youth Climate Council (YCC) of 17 members: nine appointed by the mayor and eight appointed by each ward councilmember. Fourteen seats would be reserved for high school students enrolled in public, public charter or independent schools operating in the District; three seats would be reserved for 18- to 21-year-olds, who need not be enrolled in a school or college in the District. The YCC would advise the mayor, the Council, the Department of Energy and Environment (DOE), the Commission on Climate Change and Resiliency and other entities, propose initiatives, publish findings and recommendations, and appear before the committee once per year.

The bill requires DOE to provide training to YCC members on the District’s climate and environmental policy landscape so the council’s recommendations are informed by existing policy. The measure also allows members to receive a modest stipend; the bill text does not specify a dollar amount.

Councilor Christina Henderson questioned whether 17 members would be an effective size for a working advisory body. “The only thing I wanted to, mention here just on the record is the size of this particular group. . . . How did you come to the number of 17 as the appropriate number just to make sure that this group, number one, is able to meet quorum, but two, is actually able to execute on the things that we have outlined for them to do?” Henderson asked. Allen said the composition was chosen so every ward could have representation (eight ward-appointed seats) and the mayor would appoint one more than the Council’s total, yielding nine mayoral appointees for a total of 17.

Allen said the committee worked with high school and college students, youth leaders and youth-serving nonprofits while drafting the bill and that the measure was designed to be inclusive of young people from communities most affected by climate and environmental inequities, specifically Wards 5, 7 and 8. The committee’s action was limited to approving the committee report and print for the bill and directing staff to make technical edits; the measure will move to the full Council for further consideration.

There was no recorded roll-call vote in the committee transcript for the bill; the committee approved the measure by voice vote with the chair making the motion and calling for the ayes, and no oppositions were recorded in the meeting transcript.