Background

Young people in West and Central Africa are at the forefront of climate action, mobilizing communities, creating innovative solutions, and advocating for policy change. Yet, access to climate finance remains a major barrier for youth-led initiatives, limiting their ability to scale up and secure resources from national, regional, or international funds.

This webinar, co-organized by UN Climate Change’s Regional Collaboration Centre for West and Central Africa (RCC WACA), UNDP, UNICEF WCARO, and YOUNGO, will explore the intersection of youth and climate finance. It will highlight challenges, present successful youth-led models, and open dialogue between youth and key stakeholders to co-design inclusive financial mechanisms.

Objectives

• Strengthen youth capacities to access and influence climate finance flows.
• Highlight barriers and propose solutions for youth-led organizations.
• Share good practices and successful case studies.
• Facilitate dialogue with governments, climate funds, foundations, and the private sector.

Expected Outcomes

• Increased awareness of available climate finance opportunities for youth.
• Clear recommendations to improve access to national and international funding.
• Identification of good practices and successful youth-led financing models.
• Strengthened resource-sharing and knowledge exchange across the region.

Target Audience

Youth-led organizations and entrepreneurs, government agencies, climate finance institutions, UN partners, development agencies, private sector actors, academia, and civil society. 

Important: Spanish and Portuguese speakers are welcome to join either session at their convenience!