The decision emerged following a parliamentary question by Green Party MP Caroline Lucas, who asked when the panel would next meet and what progress had been made on implementing recommendations from the panel’s first report.
The panel's report, published in December, called for young people to be involved in environmental policy decision-making and argued that continued engagement was necessary to make sure that the youth perspective on the environment was heard, and responded to, by government.
Conservative energy minister Charles Hendry said the Department of Energy and Climate Change's approach to youth engagement has been “reviewed” since the panel last met in December. To this end, the panel is to be replaced by a system that uses social media to engage young people.
“Following the review the department has decided to move to a new model of youth engagement based on approaches to reach out to a wider audience,” he said.
Hendry argued that the new approach to youth engagement would involve ministers and senior officials being “more connected with youth audiences to encourage further participation”.
“In particular we will be working more closely with youth organisations, encouraging young people to engage in dialogue with the department online through my2050, social media and a range of other channels,” he said.
Hendry did not outline what progress had been made in implementing the recommendations of the panel’s first report, but described it as “a real achievement and well received within the department”.
Elizabeth Anderson, chair of the youth panel and also a government liason officer for the UK Youth Climate Coalition, told CYP Now that she hopes the new approach to youth engagement will involve taking practical action on issues raised by young people.
"With any form of engagement it has to be a genuine two-way communication," she said. "If feedback is coming back that young people are not being listened to, we will be very keen to follow up on that."
