State of Youth NL Research Report: The climate is about our future

AMSTERDAM, 28 May 2026 – A large majority of Dutch youth see climate change as an urgent and personal issue. Six in ten young people worry about it regularly to very often. For 40% of young people, those concerns have grown in recent years. While 78% of young people view climate change as a serious issue for the Netherlands, half of young people feel unheard by the government when it comes to decisions about climate. When it comes to responsibility, young people look first to the government (44%), followed by businesses (25%) and individuals (19%). At the same time, there is strong criticism from young people of current policy: 54% feel the government is not doing enough and 26% even believe far too little is being done. This emerges from a representative study among 1,775 young people aged 12 to 29 by State of Youth NL. State of Youth NL is an initiative of KidsRights in collaboration with core partners Maatschappelijke Diensttijd (MDT) and Augeo Foundation.

KidsRights Chair Marc Dullaert: ‘As Minister for Climate and Energy, Rob Jetten (D66) championed meeting the statutory climate target of 55% reduction in harmful emissions by 2030. The cabinet under Jetten’s leadership is taking steps in the right direction, but according to projections, the cabinet’s plans fall seriously short of meeting the 2030 climate target. Moreover, delays will mean a larger and more costly challenge down the line. Young people are therefore rightly concerned about climate change and government policy, while feeling that they are not being listened to. In the new coalition agreement, younger generations are not even mentioned when it comes to climate policy. Climate is not a worn-out topic for young people: it is precisely this generation that will bear the consequences most heavily. If we do not structurally incorporate their perspective into policy, we are letting down not only young people, but also the future of our society. Prime Minister Jetten must, as a self-declared “climate nagger,” show with his cabinet that it can be done — and that now is truly the time to mean it.’

Today, Marc Dullaert presented the research report on behalf of State of Youth NL to Jantine Zwinkels, chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Climate and Green Growth, at press centre Nieuwspoort in The Hague. Minister of Climate and Green Growth Stientje van Veldhoven addressed those present at the Nieuwspoort event via a video message. Relevant ministers and Members of Parliament are receiving a megaphone from today onwards to amplify the message of State of Youth NL.

Climate concerns and consequences for the Netherlands

Climate concerns are widespread among young people, with 60% worrying regularly to very often. Young people are particularly concerned about tangible and direct consequences of climate change: damage to nature and biodiversity (47%), rising prices, such as for energy and food (40%), and health problems, for example due to polluted air (38%).

For young people, climate is therefore not only an environmental issue, but also a concrete social and economic issue that affects their own lives and futures. For many young people, affordability is an important condition for making climate-friendly choices: 47% believe that sustainable choices should not cost more, and 43% indicate that cheaper public transport helps them live more sustainably.

Young people are thereby showing that they are willing to contribute, provided the conditions are fair and feasible for their (financial) situation. As long as that foundation is lacking, climate policy remains too much of a systems-level narrative for young people and too little a solution in their daily lives. Energy prices, for example, remain high and energy poverty is still a reality, while many schemes fail to reach young people — partly because they rent or have limited financial means.

A growing gap

The State of Youth NL research on climate launched on 5 February this year and ran through 27 March 2026. The study is representative by age, gender, education level, and province. See the appendix for more information about this research, KidsRights, the core partners, and the Dutch government’s climate policy. The figures from the new State of Youth NL study underpin a growing gap between the urgency young people experience and their trust in the government’s approach, with half of young people feeling unheard when the government makes decisions about climate.

This feeling is strongest among young people who are very concerned. One young person says: ‘Taking young people more seriously — I hope the new cabinet will do this not only by engaging in dialogue with young people, but by including them in decision-making. Young people are innovative, often have good ideas and are motivated.’ This outcome connects to a broader pattern: young people want to contribute to solutions, but feel that their voice is insufficiently taken into account.

For a liveable future

The National Citizens’ Assembly on Climate adopted a recommendation on the power of young people. This assembly also emphasises that the new generation of young people wants to be involved in climate and climate policy.

Daan Zieren, Chair of the Youth Climate Movement (JKB): ‘We are glad that the State of Youth NL report confirms what we have long been hearing from young people. Climate change is increasing uncertainty about our future and is becoming ever more undeniably present in our lives. It is time to heed the concerns of young people and take action for a liveable future.’

A special commission of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Sunday 17 May 2026 called climate change a ‘catastrophic threat to public health.'[iii]

About State of Youth NL, partners and sponsors

State of Youth NL, an initiative of KidsRights, is the megaphone of the new generation: a unique representative online youth panel for Dutch young people with the mission of representing and amplifying the voice of all young people in the Netherlands. State of Youth NL puts issues raised by and with young people on the agenda, shares knowledge about them, and advocates for youth participation. For this research, State of Youth NL worked with Abbi Insights and, for the representative sample, with research agency Motivaction. The research would be unthinkable without the cooperation of young people and the financial support of Vfonds, Janivo Stichting, Dioraphte, Stichting Boschuysen, and core partners MDT and Augeo Foundation.