Young people are essential to Europe’s clean energy transition. Although they will live longest with the consequences of today’s energy choices, their voices remain underrepresented in policy and decision-making.
Despite this, young people across Europe are already leading change. They are developing community energy projects, tackling energy poverty and creating innovative solutions that support a fair and inclusive transition. Recognising this essential role, European Sustainable Energy Week 2026 continues to empower youth through its Young Energy Ambassadors (YEA) programme since 2023, giving the next generation a platform to speak up.
In 2025 alone, nearly 1 300 young people applied to become Young Energy Ambassadors, making it a record-breaking number of application and a clear sign that young Europeans are motivated more than ever to engage and contribute to the clean energy transition.
With the selection of the next cohort underway, this is your chance to join a growing community.
What is the role of EUSEW Young Energy Ambassadors?
Each year, 30 young professionals aged 18 to 35 are selected through an open call to serve as Young Energy Ambassadors for a mandate that lasts one year. Their profiles are diverse, coming from all over Europe, and are active across the clean energy landscape: from renewable energy deployment, energy efficiency and energy communities to policy analysis, digitalisation, sustainable finance and social innovation.
What unites them is a shared motivation to contribute to Europe’s clean energy transition. This collective commitment has translated into concrete action – over the past editions, Young Energy Ambassadors have:
- Contributed to the policy discussions with experts from the European Commission;
- Co-created recommendations on the future of clean energy and energy communities;
- Challenged pre-made ideas around equity, energy access, greenwashing and urban sustainability; and
- Promoted youth perspectives through blog contributions, media collaborations and outreach activities.
What is the European Youth Energy Day?
The Young Energy Ambassadors are an integral part of the European Youth Energy Day (EYED), a core youth-focused component of EUSEW, organised annually since 2020. It represents the evolution of youth engagement over more than 20 years of EUSEW, reflecting the growing recognition of young people as key actors in Europe’s energy transition.
Originally conceived as a single day of youth-focused activities, EYED has expanded in response to the increasing importance of youth participation in energy policymaking.
EYED brings together Young Energy Ambassadors through interactive formats such as high-level dialogues with EU leaders, intergenerational exchanges, co-creation workshops and collaborative sessions to create recommendations to drive forward the energy transition.
How to apply to become a EUSEW Young Energy Ambassador?
The call to become a Young Energy Ambassador for the next cohort is now open until 15 February 2026. Applications are open to young people aged 18-35 who are citizens of:
- an EU Member State; or
- Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Ukraine.
Applicants are encouraged to share concrete examples of how they have contributed to the clean energy transition or addressed challenges in the clean energy field.
What matters is the impact of your work: who you reached, what changed, and how you helped move the conversation or action forward. We are also keen to hear how you have communicated about these efforts, whether through community outreach, events or digital channels, including social media.
The selected applicants will be informed regarding their outcome by mid-April, and the online announcement will be done by 21 April 2026. The next Young Energy Ambassadors will be introduced during the European Sustainable Energy Week 2026 in Brussels and will remain active for a year-long mandate.
Create the stories that will travel further than Brussels
What makes the YEA experience particularly powerful is its reach beyond the event and the meeting rooms. Previous cohorts have used their mandate to tell stories that are published on the EUSEW and partner media channels.
Through articles, social media, events and other outreach activities, Young Energy Ambassadors have been promoting EUSEW and EU energy policies, engaging citizens and local communities across Europe on a clean, competitive and fair energy transition.
For example, last year’s YEA Simone Accornero examined corporate renewable energy procurement, raising questions about greenwashing and highlighting the need for clearer and more consistent EU rules to support climate goals and industrial resilience. Bettina Päri focused on cities and citizen-led action, showing how bottom-up initiatives and youth engagement played a key role in advancing the energy transition. Eliza Barnea reflected on the green transition at a critical moment, arguing that climate ambition needed to go hand in hand with social equity to ensure that vulnerable groups were not left behind.
Your voice belongs in this transition
Europe’s path to climate neutrality by 2050 will be shaped by decisions and efforts made today. The Young Energy Ambassadors programme exists to make sure that young people are present wherever those decisions are made.
Details
- Publication date
- 27 January 2026
- Author
- European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency