The rise of the global youth climate justice movement in recent years has played a pivotal role in accelerating climate action. However, it remains a concern among young advocates and their organizations that public institutions lack the will and/or resources to meaningfully engage with a diversity of young people and to integrate their inputs into climate policymaking. Simultaneously, government officials frequently encounter challenges in identifying and engaging youth in co-designed policy processes and including their contributions in legally-binding texts.This disconnect represents a significant missed opportunity for countries to align their climate action plans with the needs of young people, the very people who will shoulder the consequences of our action or inaction. Central are countries’ self-defined Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to the Paris Agreement.An NDC is a country’s pledge specifying how much it will contribute to the global goal of 1.5°C, adapting to climate impacts, and ensuring sufficient finance to support these efforts. It must be updated every five years with an increase in ambition based on the country’s capacities.