Youth Peoples

With regard to the matter of Climate Finance, YOUNGO participates in meetings of the Standing Committee on Finance (SCF).[1] It does so via its working group Finance & Markets. This working group represents youth voices in UNFCCC processes on matters related to climate finance and advocates to scale up and improve access to climate finance for Youth. Additionally youths are calling for two particular measures. First, a relaxation of the technical requirements in funding application. And second, the local authorities should create an inclusive environment for the youth so that they can partake in the climate finance initiatives even if they do not have the capacity to provide finance.[2]                                      The issue of loss and damage should be dealt with through open letter and consultations with decision-makers. To make this more inclusive, we collect and amplify stories of frontline communities experiencing loss and damage.[3] When the adaptation is driven by the frontline communities themselves, both the adequacy and effectiveness of the adaptation are improved.[4]                                                                                                                  Many members of YOUNGO are children and youth from the Global South. The rise of youth activism in Global Southern countries has led to the call of fostering intergenerational partnerships.[5] Additionally, youth are amplifying climate and biodiversity findings by environmental organizations. These campaigns are not dominated by NGO’s of the ‘Global North’, as more diverse organizations from the ‘Global South’ equally participate.[6]

[1] Youth Stocktake on UNFCCC Processes (YOUNGO 2023) https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/YOUTH%20STOCKTAKE%20on%20UNFCCC%20PROCESSES%208%2012%2023.pdf, 76.  

[2] Youth Needs for Climate Finance (YOUNGO Finance & Markets Working Group 2022) https://youngoclimate.org/youth-needs-for-climate-finance/.

[3] Loss and Damage Youth Coalition: homepage (Loss and Damage Youth Coalition 2024) https://ldyouth.org/.

[4] Youth Stocktake on UNFCCC Processes (YOUNGO 2023) https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/YOUTH%20STOCKTAKE%20on%20UNFCCC%20PROCESSES%208%2012%2023.pdf, 84.

[5] Why the “Global South” matters in young people’s right to a healthy environment (Raoul Wallenberg Institute 2022) https://rwi.lu.se/blog/why-the-global-south-matters-in-young-peoples-right-to-a-healthy-environment/.

[6] Ibidem.