Youth Climate Action Fund
Glasgow's Climate Week blog posts
Youth Climate Action Fund: Empowering young people to build a greener future for Glasgow!
Glasgow's Youth Climate Action Fund (YCAF) is a programme aimed at empowering young people aged 15 to 24 to design and deliver climate-focused projects within their communities. Led by Glasgow City Council and supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the fund provides mini-grants to youth-led and youth-focused organisations to encourage grassroots environmental action.
What is the Youth Climate Action Fund?
Launched in 2024 as part of Bloomberg Philanthropies' global Youth Climate Action Fund, Glasgow was among 100 cities worldwide selected to receive funding to support youth-led climate projects. The initial phase saw the city receive US$50,000, which funded eight diverse projects across Glasgow. Building on this success, an additional US$100,000 was awarded for a second phase of the YCAF, where grants up to £3,900 will be awarded to 17 or more new projects in Glasgow.
Project Themes
Projects being delivered are aligned with the YCAF’s core themes, which are based on the themes of Glasgow's Climate Plan:
- Speaking Up and Taking Action
- Fair and Green for Everyone
- Easy and Sustainable Travel
- Healthy People, Healthy Planet
- Building a Greener Future
These themes can support a broad range of initiatives, from climate education and environmental justice to local food growing and active travel support.
Success Stories
The first phase of YCAF funded projects had meaningful impacts across different neighbourhoods in Glasgow, and included climate education and learning programmes, transforming underused spaces into community gardens, embedding sustainability into school curriculums, creating art murals which illustrate Scotland’s changing climate, and hosting upcycling and reuse workshops for young people to develop new skills.
Next Steps
Applications for the second phase of the YCAF closed on Monday 5th May. Projects are being selected during Glasgow’s Climate Week and will be delivered between July and December 2025.
Visit the YCAF webpage for more information: