YOUNG PEOPLE ARE AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE CLIMATE CRISIS
The level of climate action taken today will have a direct impact on the rest of their lives. How they access food, clean air, clean water, healthy oceans, and productive livelihoods can make them one of the most vulnerable groups to climate change. But it also makes them one of the most effective leaders in climate action bringing their passion, innovation, and advocacy to a global movement.
Youth can play a key role in mobilizing climate finance and encouraging their governments to enhance their commitments. For this reason, the Climate Investment Funds is actively engaging and supporting youth groups and young climate leaders through capacity building and by prioritizing the needs of young people in decisions about investments and infrastructure. CIF’s Youth Engagement Strategy Consultation Note sets out the four broad pillars of our youth engagement:
- Youth climate innovation and entrepreneurship;
- Youth in climate governance;
- Communications, knowledge, and outreach with youth; and
- Supporting youth networking and cross-collaboration.
The CIF works with youth climate leaders and entrepreneurs and has emphasized the potential and tangible change young people can bring to their communities. The Youth Adapt Challenge, a CIF partnership with the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) and the African Development Bank (AfDB), has demonstrated how young African entrepreneurs can scale up solutions to local climate-related problems. Our youth engagement also ensures young voices and views are recognized in global forums.
The CIF Internship Program brings in young people from different geographies to join our global team, and participate and contribute to our day to day work. Meet a former CIF intern, Loay Radwan:
CIF YOUTH FELLOWSHIP
To give young climate leaders the opportunity to work with projects co-financed by CIF in their country of residence, we have created the CIF Youth Fellowship in partnership with our six multilateral development banks (MDBs) partners: the African Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the InterAmerican Development Bank, the World Bank, and the International Finance Corporation.
The CIF Youth Fellowship is a one-year program that gives selected candidates the opportunity to work with CIF’s and MDBs' frontier climate finance and climate action programs. This includes areas such as nature-based solutions, clean energy, adaptation and climate resilience, energy access, and gender and social inclusion. On top of this professional experience, the CIF Youth Fellowship brings cross learning, networking, and meaningful partnerships, with other youths and country and MDB partners. The Fellows, in turn, will help CIF and MDBs understand how climate finance programs can better benefit youth, ensure inclusion of youth needs and voices in projects and develop a wider network of young climate experts to engage in climate action.
Applications for the 2025 Youth Fellowship are now closed. If you are interested in receiving updates in relation to our Youth Fellowship program please register here.
