Meet the climate innovators

Youth4Climate is a global initiative co-led by the Government of Italy and UNDP, helping young people turn climate ideas into concrete solutions through direct funding, capacity development, connections and visibility.

Since 2023, Youth4Climate has supported 200 youth-led climate solutions across 69 countries. In 2026, 50 new solutions were selected as Youth4Climate awardees, tackling some of today’s most pressing climate challenges, from clean energy and sustainable food systems to resilient cities, fashion and oceans.

As awardees, they receive funding to develop and implement their solutions, alongside tailored learning opportunities, access to a global network of peers and partners, and opportunities to showcase their work on international platforms.

Meet the young innovators behind the solutions and discover what they are building below.

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new awardees

thematic areas

countries  represented

Thematic areas

This year’s Youth4Climate awardee cohort is organised across six thematic areas that reflect some of the most urgent and interconnected climate challenges of our time.

Sustainable energy

Innovations supporting clean, inclusive and resilient energy systems, with a focus on access, efficiency and low-carbon futures.

Food and agriculture

Explores solutions that transform food systems by restoring ecosystems, reducing waste, strengthening local markets and improving access to sustainable and nutritious food.

Climate, peace and security

Projects exploring the links between climate change, fragility, displacement, social cohesion and community resilience.

Sustainable fashion

Focuses on solutions that rethink how fashion is designed, produced, used and valued: reducing emissions and waste across value chains while promoting circularity, fair labour, cultural expression and more responsible consumption.

Architecture for adaptation

Explores how design, materials and spatial solutions can make buildings and communities more climate-resilient, low-carbon and inclusive in the face of growing environmental risks.

Oceans and blue economy

Explores youth-led solutions that connect ocean protection with sustainable livelihoods, coastal resilience and a more inclusive, low-emission blue economy.

Profiles

Discover all the Youth4Climate Projects profiles, and filter them by thematic area or region.

Asia Pacific

Manta BlueRise

Bangladesh

Manta BlueRise is a climate adaptation model that equips Bangladesh’s Manta fisherfolk with amphibious architecture, clean energy, and early warning systems.

Architecture for adaptation

“Frontline communities cannot remain passive victims. We must be empowered to lead and design our own local adaptation strategies.”

Latin America & the Caribbean

Jamrock Oysters

Jamaica

Jamrock Oysters is establishing Jamaica’s first lantern-net oyster farm, with traceability from spat to harvest built in from day one, operated by and for coastal fishing communities.

Oceans and blue economy

“Fewer inputs seemed to me like a genuinely more sustainable supply chain.”

Asia Pacific

Waste to Wear, Waste to Build

Philippines

Waste to Wear, Waste to Build is a youth-led circular economy initiative in Alangalang, Leyte that transforms textile waste into upcycled fashion and innovative materials.

Sustainable fashion

“We believe climate action should address both environmental and social challenges.”

Africa

eAgro

Zimbabwe

Using AI to bring localized climate intelligence to smallholder farmers, helping them make better decisions and build resilience to climate change.

Food and Agriculture

“It motivated me to use technology to make climate information more useful and accessible to the communities experiencing these challenges firsthand.”

Latin America & the Caribbean

Miss Celánea

Colombia

Miss Célanea connects fashion, circular economy, and social justice in Cali, bringing together youth, women, and communities to valorize textile waste.

Sustainable fashion

“I believe design can make environmental challenges visible, raise awareness, and inspire action.”

Asia Pacific

AmplAI by Valency Energy

India

AmplAI by Valency Energy is the missing digital layer between India’s untapped solar and a grid still working toward reliable.

Sustainable energy

“I chose to fix a practical, urgent bottleneck in how India’s grid delivers power.”

Africa

Ekole

Benin

We train engineers who build resilient agricultural infrastructure and who have proven their operational ability to use this infrastructure to achieve 12 sustainable development goals.

Architecture for adaptation

“For me, climate action means designing development models that enable African communities to thrive without compromising their future.”

Europe & the Middle East

Urban Green Walls

Kyrgyzstan

Urban Green Walls is a youth-led vertical greening project that reduces urban heat and air pollution through low-cost, climate-adapted nature-based solutions.

Architecture for adaptation

“Working with young people and communities showed me that climate action can be practical and locally driven.”

Asia Pacific

Smart-Coastal Restoration

China

Youth‑driven Smart‑Coastal Restoration deploys UAV‑AI tech to tackle Spartina alterniflora invasion, recover blue‑carbon salt marshes and safeguard coastal livelihoods.

Oceans and blue economy

“I believe youth can bridge science and on-site management, protecting biodiversity and enhancing climate resilience for local communities.”

Asia Pacific

Climate Smart Agriculture

Tonga

Youth groups and local farmers will use climate-smart farming, water-efficient irrigation, and value-added production of crops to strengthen food security, create sustainable livelihoods.

Food and Agriculture

As a youth, I believe young people must be part of the solution, not only observers of the problem.”

Africa

RiverEdge

Tanzania

RiverEdge restores 2,500m of degraded riparian buffer along Tanzania’s Ngerengere River using native bioengineering, training 230 young Indigenous Maasai women as certified technicians.

Architecture for adaptation

“I wanted to prove that our customary Maasai knowledge, combined with ecological engineering, holds the key to protecting vulnerable communities from climate disasters.”

Asia Pacific

REPCRA

Indonesia

A youth-led initiative helping smallholder farmers adapt to prolonged dry seasons through solar-powered irrigation, smart water management, and climate-resilient agriculture.

Sustainable energy

“Climate action needs to go beyond conversations about technology or emissions. It should create solutions that people can directly benefit from and sustain over time.”

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