Background

Young people around the world are growing up in a time of profound environmental, social and economic change. Climate change is increasingly shaping how communities live, learn, work and plan for the future, affecting livelihoods, wellbeing, culture, food systems and opportunities for future generations.

Yet young people are not only experiencing these changes. Across diverse contexts, they are responding through leadership, innovation, community action, stewardship and local problem-solving. From farmers adapting to changing seasons, to Indigenous youth safeguarding knowledge systems, to young people strengthening community resilience and creating new opportunities, young people are already helping shape the future they will inherit.

These experiences differ significantly across regions, cultures and communities. What helps a young farmer respond to drought, a coastal community manage rising sea levels, or an Indigenous young person maintain cultural connections may look very different, yet all offer important lessons about how communities navigate change and uncertainty.

The Presidency Youth Climate Champion (PYCC), established under Decision 16/CP.28, plays a unique role in connecting the experiences and perspectives of children and young people with international climate processes. As the COP31 Presidency continues to shape its priorities and approach to youth engagement, there is an opportunity to better understand how young people experience climate change, what resilience and preparedness mean in different contexts, and what support future generations need to succeed.

To inform the ongoing focus of the PYCC role, the COP31 Presidency Youth Climate Champion will convene a series of regional youth consultations. These conversations will bring together young people from different regions to share experiences, identify common challenges and opportunities, and explore how youth leadership, community knowledge and lived experience can help strengthen climate action and implementation.

Building on discussions across the Road to COP31, the consultations will help identify emerging priorities and ensure future PYCC engagements are grounded in the realities, aspirations and insights of young people around the world.

Objectives

This event series will be an opportunity for youth from different regions to engage directly with the COP31 Presidency Youth Climate Champion and contribute inputs for consideration in the ongoing planning for COP31 in Antalya and as part of the wider PYCC mandate. Participants will also receive updates on current progress and activities by the PYCC. This series of virtual regional consultations seek to:

• Understand how young people across different regions and contexts experience climate change, and what resilience, preparedness and thriving communities look like in practice.
• Identify the priorities, opportunities and actions that young people believe are needed to strengthen youth leadership, community responses and climate implementation.
• Inform the ongoing focus of the COP31 Presidency Youth Climate Champion by capturing diverse youth perspectives, lived experiences and aspirations for the Road to COP31 and beyond.

Target Audience

This series of regional consultations is offered for all young people under the age of 35.

Approach

Three consultations will be held on 26/27 August, 2026, covering:

• Americas – 22:00 UTC / 00:00 CEST / 8:00 AEST (+1)
• Asia and the Pacific – 4:00 UTC / 6:00 CEST / 14:00 AEST
• Europe/Africa/Middle East – 9:00 UTC / 11:00 CEST / 19:00 AEST

Language interpretation using zoom feature.

These sessions will be hosted in collaboration with the UNFCCC Regional Collaboration Centres (RCCs), which support climate action worldwide and serve as regional hubs, delivering technical assistance, fostering capacity-building, and strengthening partnerships and networks to meet national and local climate action needs.  For more information on the RCCs, please visit: https://unfccc.int/RCCs

Topic of the Consultations and guiding questions

Words such as resilience, preparedness, thriving, future generations and adaptation are increasingly used in climate discussions. These concepts can mean different things in different places and cultures. We want to understand what these ideas look like in practice from your perspective.

Introductory question: When you hear terms such as resilience, preparedness or adaptation, what do they mean in your community and context? What do these concepts look like in practice for children and young people where you live?

Consultation questions (discussed in groups):

• Imagining success: Looking ahead 10 to 20 years, what would it look like if young people and communities in your region were thriving despite growing climate challenges? What would need to be different from today?
• Building the future generation: What knowledge, skills, values, relationships, cultural strengths or opportunities do young people need to successfully navigate the future they will inherit?
• A challenge for climate leaders: If you could give one recommendation to climate leaders preparing for COP31 and beyond, what should they prioritise to help future generations succeed in an increasingly uncertain world?