CLIMATE GOVERNANCE
YOUTH ADVANCING ENGAGEMENT IN CLIMATE GOVERNANCE
Young people across Asia and the Pacific are redefining what inclusive and peaceful climate governance looks like. Whether shaping policy at COP negotiations, influencing national frameworks, or leading local movements, youth are building climate solutions rooted in justice, accountability, and intergenerational equity. Their engagement also reinforces peace and social cohesion—particularly in regions where climate risks intersect with fragility and inequality. Explore key programmes, training opportunities, stories, and platforms that elevate youth voices and strengthen their influence across climate, governance, and peacebuilding spaces.
The YECAP Fellowship is a six-month regional programme that empowers youth to lead climate solutions in their communities and beyond. Through a mix of leadership training, policy engagement, and capacity-building activities, Fellows sharpen their advocacy skills, accelerate local climate initiatives, and represent youth perspectives in national, regional, and global decision-making spaces. Upon completion, they join a vibrant alumni network of changemakers committed to advancing just and inclusive climate action across Asia and the Pacific.
YECAP Fellowship
Programme
This regional training equips young leaders with the technical and diplomatic skills needed to engage effectively in global climate negotiations. Co-developed by UNFCCC RCC Asia-Pacific and YECAP, with support from YOUNGO and regional partners, the programme demystifies UNFCCC processes and builds youth capacity to contribute to national policy dialogues and COP negotiations—ensuring that youth are not only present, but prepared to shape climate outcomes.
YECAP
Climate Negotiator Training Programme
Regional
Youth Parliament on
Climate Action
RYPCA brings together a diverse cohort of young leaders already embedded in political and policy spaces—ranging from youth parliamentarians and government officials to national climate delegates and advisors. The pilot programme enables these 15 youth from 12 countries to collaboratively reimagine inclusive governance models and strengthen their influence in climate decision-making processes through peer learning, policy development, and high-level engagement.
Youth leadership is essential to building peaceful, climate-resilient societies. In communities facing conflict, disaster, and environmental risks, young people are advancing peace and justice through climate action and democratic participation. This initiative strengthens their capacity to engage with political institutions, contribute to peacebuilding processes, and lead governance reforms—ensuring that climate solutions are inclusive, locally grounded, and contribute to long-term stability.
Youth, Peace, Governance
YOUTH TAKING THE STAGE IN CLIMATE DECISION-MAKING
Asia-Pacific
Climate Week (APCW)
Asia-Pacific Climate Week 2023 brought together regional voices to shape climate policy pathways ahead of COP28. Hosted in Johor, Malaysia, it served as a crucial platform for cross-sector collaboration—spotlighting solutions in energy, infrastructure, food systems, and just transitions. With YECAP’s support, youth from across the region joined dialogues and forums, contributing lived experience, community insights, and policy recommendations to global stocktake discussions under the Paris Agreement. Their participation reflects growing youth leadership in formal climate governance processes.
Conference of the Parties (COP)
Youth from the Asia-Pacific region are increasingly stepping into global climate governance spaces—none more prominent than the annual UN Climate Change Conference (COP). Through targeted support and collaboration, youth delegates are equipped to engage in high-level negotiations, shape agendas through side events, and advance calls for justice and intergenerational equity. These efforts ensure that youth-led perspectives from the region influence the global climate architecture—not from the sidelines, but from within decision-making spaces.
Webinar on Youth Navigating the Climate Governance Sphere in Asia-Pacific
Webinar on Pillar of Democracy: Youth Political Engagement for Inclusive Governance
Amira Aisya, Malaysia
State Assembly Member of Johor (Puteri Wangsa)
"Youth don't only need to be heard; we need to be the ones calling the shot.
At the end of the day, be it good or bad, we will inherit this Earth."
