Youth4Climate Solutions 2025 IS OUT NOW

Youth4Climate Solutions 2025 is out now!! We have returned with our 3rd round of funding and learning opportunities, to support youth-led climate solutions in 6 thematic areas.  The Call is open to youth from 159 countries and territories covered by UNDP.

Background  – Youth4Climate Solutions 2025

There are 1.9 billion young people in the world, making up the largest generation in history. Young people are increasingly acknowledged as vital contributors to transformative climate action, playing roles such as negotiators, innovators, inventors, entrepreneurs, and agents of change. However, they face a significant shortfall in essential technical, financial, and political resources and support needed to fulfil their aspirations. 

In response, the Government of Italy and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in collaboration with a range of knowledge partners and youth constituencies, have set out to identify, support and scale youth-led climate breakthroughs through the global Youth4Climate initiative (Y4C) 

Youth4Climate has now launched its 3rd annual Call for Solutions, inviting youth and youth-led organizations that are working on innovative climate projects to apply.  The Call is open to youth from 159 countries and territories covered by UNDP.

Call for Solutions – Youth4Climate Solutions 2025

Y4C’s Call for Solutions is a global innovation challenge for Youth and Youth-led organizations working on climate action focused projects. The Call aims to fund new and existing youth-led solutions that are ready to implement or scale, and to support the further development of young people’s ideas and projects by providing relevant learning opportunities with the support of partners.  

Since 2023, through the first two rounds of its Call for Solutions, Youth4Climate has allocated an envelope of USD 2.5 million in direct funding to 100 youth-led climate projects across 52 countries.

Call for Youth4Climate Solutions 2025 Solutions 2025 

In 2025, the Youth4Climate Call for Solutions launches its third round of funding opportunities for young people aged 18 to 29 and youth-led entities. Applicants to the Call for Solutions can request up to USD 30,000 in seed funding and successful applicants will also benefit from:   

• Connections and visibility at country, regional and global levels that may enable scaling and growth of their projects.  
• Capacity development offers include a mentorship programme consisting of group workshops, one-to-one mentorship, and project pitching and feedback opportunities.  
• Proposals, if successful, can be implemented over a maximum of 24 months. Proposals can be submitted in English, French, Spanish or Portuguese. 

Who can apply? Youth4Climate Solutions 2025

• Young Individuals aged 18 to 29 and who meet the remainder of the eligibility criteria (see Call for Solutions guidelines) 
• A legally registered, youth-led civil society organization (CSO), non-governmental organization (NGO), community-based organization (CBO), or company with the majority of the organization’s leadership being young people aged 18-29 years at the time of submitting the application. Please note that the project lead for the organization should be aged 18 to 29 
• The proposed project must be implemented in one of the countries listed in the Call guidelines.   
• The project lead must be a national of one of the countries listed in the Annex of the Call guidelines. 

You can start your application by reading the full Call for Solutions guidelines using the link in the next section. The Call guidelines are available in English, French, Portuguese, or Spanish.

How to apply for the Call?

Step 1 

Now you are on the public page. Go to the Call for Solutions 2025 Guideline and template page. If you are not a member of this online platform, you will need to register and create a profile on the Youth4Climate Platform to gain access.  

Learn more about the Youth4Climate online platform and it’s community by visiting this page. 

Step 2 

• Please download and read the Guidelines Document carefully. It will tell you everything you need to know about who can apply, the requirements and important deadlines. 
• Carefully review the content requested on the application form. 

Applicants who do not meet the eligibility criteria will be disqualified immediately and their application will not be evaluated further. 

Step 3 

Download and fill out the Budget and Workplan template. Prepare a 3-minute video pitching your solution using the instructions provided in the Call for Solutions Guidelines.  

Applicants who do not use the provided templates or do not submit the video will be disqualified. 

Step 4 

Complete your proposal via the application platform and attach the templates provided in the space on the form. 

Step 5 

Upload your 3-min video and submit your application! 

Deadline: 26 May, 23:59 Central European Time. 

Click on the green button below to access the Call’s guidelines and templates.  

A look into this year’s thematic areas of Youth4Climate Solutions 2025

The 2025 Call will fund youth-led solutions in 6 thematic areas:  

1. Sustainable Energy  
2. Food and Agriculture  
3. Climate and Health  
4. Digital for Planet  
5. Climate, Peace and Security  
6. Nature for Climate Action  

Solutions may naturally address more than one of these areas, though applicants will be asked to identify one primary focus area. 

Sustainable Energy 

The world stands at a pivotal moment in the energy transition. 2025 will be a defining year in the global energy transition, with renewables set to become the world’s largest source of electricity for the first time in history; driving a sustainable energy revolution that will reshape development. However, with record-breaking temperatures persisting, urgent action is needed to ensure a just and sustainable transition. Clean energy investments remain starkly uneven, with only one-fifth of global clean energy investments having gone to Emerging Markets and Developing Economies (excluding China) so far. Nearly 685 million people are still without electricity access and 2.1 billion lack clean cooking solutions.   

In this context, the following are needed to drive transformative action:   

• expanding renewable energy adoption;   
• leveraging digitalization and AI for optimized energy systems;   
• mobilizing innovative financing mechanisms; and   
• scaling decentralized energy solutions to reach underserved communities.   

Food and Agriculture  

Global food systems are at a breaking point, contributing to environmental degradation, food insecurity, and socioeconomic inequality. Food systems account for 31% of human produced global greenhouse gas emissions, 80% of deforestation, 70% of biodiversity loss, and 70% of freshwater use. At the same time, 2.4 billion people face moderate or severe food insecurity, and 42% of the global population cannot afford a healthy diet. Crises such as conflicts, climate shocks, and economic disruptions have intensified these challenges, particularly in fragile contexts. Solutions to these challenges can include but are not limited to:   

• agroecology and regenerative agriculture to restore soil health, reduce reliance on synthetic inputs, and promote sustainable practices;   
• reducing food waste through local initiatives like composting or sharing platforms;   
• strengthening local food markets to improve access to diverse and nutritious diets;   
• fostering collaborative efforts through inclusive and open discussions, ensuring unified action on food, climate, and biodiversity for real, lasting change.  

Climate and Health 

The climate crisis is a health crisis. Extreme weather events, including floods and heatwaves, as well as the spread of infectious diseases, increase demand for health services while simultaneously threatening the health sector’s ability to provide care by interrupting power lines, damaging or destroying facilities, and hindering access. Importantly, the climate crisis amplifies health inequities, disproportionately impacting marginalized communities today, while threatening the long-term health and well-being of children and young people. Yet young people, whose physical and mental health is likely to be most impacted, are often not adequately supported to be part of the solution, and health priorities often remain underrepresented in national climate commitments.   

This priority area of the Call seeks to enhance health-inclusive climate planning and actions led by young people, and solutions that contribute to ensuring that the health needs of young people and other marginalized groups are adequately met. 

Digital for Planet 

Digital technologies hold immense potential for both mitigating and adapting to climate change and preserving and restoring biodiversity. Digital not only enables the development of innovations that drive climate action but also offers powerful tools and solutions to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, protect and restore nature, and improve climate resilience. For example, a 2018 study by the Exponential Roadmap Initiative showed that digital technology could reduce global emissions by 15 percent through solutions in sectors like energy, manufacturing, agriculture and land use, buildings, services, transportation and traffic management. 

Under this priority area, the Youth4Climate Call is seeking solutions addressing nature and climate crises through:  

• the use of frontier digital technologies; 
• digital technologies that respond to sector-specific needs; 
• initiatives that leverage digital technologies to generate values shift by transforming behaviours and narratives surrounding nature and climate crises. 

Climate, Peace and Security 

Climate change is reshaping global peace and security, acting as a threat multiplier that exacerbates vulnerabilities, disrupts livelihoods, and increases conflict risks, especially in fragile and conflict-affected contexts. Countries most affected by both climate and conflict also suffer the lowest levels of access to climate finance, adaptation and energy.  

For the world’s over one billion youth, including over 700 million living in these settings, the stakes are high. The interlink between climate, peace and security is disproportionately affecting youth, putting their future at risk, and affecting their physical as well as mental wellbeing. Despite these challenges, youth are emerging as vital agents of change, contributing actively towards solutions for climate action and peacebuilding through creativity and innovation. To mark the 10th anniversary of the Youth, Peace and Security agenda, this area of the Call will seek solutions for peace-positive climate adaptation and mitigation, including but not limited to:  

• promoting access to clean energy, water, participatory natural resource management and sustainable livelihoods: 
• enhancing social cohesion, fostering dialogue and cooperation to strengthen peace processes in contexts of climate vulnerability: 
• addressing climate-induced displacement and vulnerability to violent extremism among youth, supporting integration of youth returnees recruited by extremist groups back into society. 

Nature for Climate Action 

Biodiversity is fundamental to human well-being, a healthy planet, and economic prosperity for all people. Natural ecosystems are our most powerful ally in the fight against climate change. Healthy ecosystems absorb carbon, regulate climate and protect communities from extreme weather. Yet, deforestation, land degradation, wetland loss and ocean decline accelerate global warming and heighten vulnerabilities, with nature loss costing the global economy trillions of dollars. To meet climate goals, we must shift from exploiting nature to valuing it, driving behavioural change and integrating it into governance, economics, finance, health and conservation. Nature-based solutions can provide 37% of our climate mitigation needs to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. This priority area seeks a broad range of solutions linked to ecosystem conservation and restoration.  APPLY HERE