This International Youth Day, Let’s Back Local Youth Actions to Deliver the SDGs and Heal the Planet

August 17, 2025

For millions of youth, the most urgent needs are not abstract. They are deeply local: restoring degraded ecosystems, adapting farms to climate stress, accessing clean water, and building sustainable livelihoods. That is why green skills are essential. These are practical knowledge and abilities that enable youth to care for their environment while strengthening local resilience and economies.

I have witnessed these transformations firsthand. In Vietnam’s Quảng Ninh Province, young farmers trained through our climate education initiative did not just plant mangroves to fight rising seas. They revived an abandoned bay and converted it into a thriving shrimp farm. These young people now not only produce food. They also extract methane from shrimp waste to generate clean bio-gas for surrounding communities. One youth-led regenerative action delivered food security, clean energy, and climate adaptation, rooted entirely in local initiative.

In Kenya’s Kakuma refugee camp, we are witnessing another powerful youth story unfold. Young people, many of them displaced girls and boys, are taking the lead and engaging in activities such as beekeeping, clean cookstove production, manufacturing briquettes from agricultural waste, improving food security, reducing emissions, and generating income. These efforts are local, community-led, and deeply transformative.

These are not isolated examples. They are evidence of what happens when young people are engaged as partners in development, not recipients of programmes. They are local blueprints for global impact.

But despite this promise, we are still falling short. According to the United Nations 2024 Sustainable Development Goals report, we are significantly off-track. Youth are often called the leaders of tomorrow, but the truth is that they are leading today, especially at the grassroots. The problem is, too often they are doing so with limited tools and even fewer resources.

The International Labour Organisation estimates up to 100 million green jobs will be created by 2030. Yet millions of youth, especially in climate-vulnerable countries, remain excluded from the very training, mentorship, and platforms that could bring these jobs within reach. This is a missed opportunity we can no longer afford.

We urge governments to embed green skills and community-based action in every level of education, from rural schools to informal training centers. We urge private sector partners to invest in youth-led local innovation, not just at scale, but at the street, village, and farm level. And we urge international donors to fund what works, especially initiatives that engage young women and marginalised groups and support their leadership in local contexts.

This is not about empowerment from above. It is about engagement from within. It is about creating spaces and support systems where youth can act on the issues that matter most to their communities.

Real climate leadership does not only come from conference halls or high-level panels. It grows in mangrove swamps, refugee camps, drylands, rooftops, and school gardens. It looks like young people organising community tree-planting drives, piloting clean energy systems, launching local compost initiatives, and sharing green knowledge among their peers. This is where the SDGs become real.

It’s time to recommit to what truly matters. Investing in youth-led community actions. Engaging young people as full partners. And creating opportunities for them to thrive where they are.

Young people are not waiting for permission. They are already leading. It is time the world catches up.

Disclaimer: The authors first published this blog in August 2025 on the EFEcomunica website. Click here to read the original post.