The Summit of the Future recognizes the importance of the active, meaningful and inclusive participation of youth in decision-making. This is a smart call. It is the right call.
The world has never been so young. Gen Z now makes up one third of the world’s population. And, according to the last World Youth Report, there are 1.2 billion people aged between 15 and 24 years, a figure that will rise to 1.3 billion by 2030.
These are huge constituencies. But it isn’t just about numbers. It is about ideas and energy. Youth do not cleave to the old ways of doing things. They see the problems, yes. They know that they are inheriting many problems from previous generations. But they also see possibilities and new pathways. When innovation comes, it is often from youth.
Youth will undoubtedly be central to ending the triple planetary crisis – the crisis of climate change, the crisis of nature and biodiversity loss, and the crisis of pollution and waste. And so, they will be central to a sustainable future – as there can be no peace, prosperity or equity without a stable climate and healthy nature.
But for youth to contribute and lead, we must overcome intergenerational gaps in power, influence and, increasingly, trust. That is why the Summit of the Future and the Declaration on Future Generations reaffirms our responsibility to embed youth perspectives in global decision-making processes.
But it isn’t as simple as listening and nodding along. We have a responsibility to arm youth with the right knowledge and skills so that they can lead the just transition to sustainable development. At the moment, we are failing in this task.
As the world moves to net-zero, nature-positive and zero-pollution economies, there is a growing need for green skills. But as many as seven out of ten young people do not have basic knowledge on environmental sustainability. UNESCO’s Learn for Our Planet found that more than half of educational plans and curricula frameworks studied in almost 50 countries make no reference to climate change. Only one in five speak about biodiversity.
The result is that youth are less likely to make the choices or enter the jobs that will secure their own future on a healthy planet.
So, we need to support youth empowerment and upskilling, through public-private-youth partnerships that change education systems – from university courses to on-the-job training. One such partnership is the Green Jobs for Youth Pact, led by the International Labour Organization (ILO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
The Pact works with youth, governments, employers, workers’ organizations and educational institutions to create meaningful employment opportunities for young people by 2030. Since it was launched at COP27, the Pact has made positive strides.
Governments have committed to advancing policies and initiatives on green skills and jobs for youth, including Cuba, Kenya, Madagascar and Senegal. Regional intergovernmental fora in Latin America and Africa have endorsed the pact.
We have a Youth Advisory Group. Accelerator programmes in Africa, Asia Pacific and West Asia that train young entrepreneurs, including women. In India, UNEP collaborates with the Green Skill Council to build youth readiness for green jobs in such initiatives as the Prime Minister's Green Hydrogen Mission.
We have private sector commitments to upskill and empower youth – and we will hear from LinkedIn today. And we will build a new Green Skills and Learning Accelerator, with the first regional hub soon to be launched in Kenya and we are also working closely with other Higher Education including Times Higher Education to build out more Accelerators to support young people to have the skills and human capital needed to meet the green transition.
We are making progress. But we remain a long way from helping youth to fulfil their green potential. So, I am calling on everyone here to partner with the Green Jobs for Youth Pact and accelerate progress to a greener and more decent future, with youth leading the way.
