Funding the future: climate finance for youth
BMJ Paediatrics Open
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Abstract: The world is experiencing a demographic shift characterized by a rapid increase in the number and percentage of youth, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. Young people under 30 constitute 70% of the region’s population and are projected to represent 42% of global youth by 2030. Thus, global economic growth, technological innovation, and social development will increasingly depend on the capacity of young people to lead and manage the challenges confronting humanity—first and foremost, the existential threats of climate change. In 2023, the WHO estimated 3.6 billion people live in areas susceptible to climate change, presenting both opportunities and challenges. The latter, in the context of the direct and indirect effects of climate change, threatens to derail socioeconomic development, disrupt ecological systems, and negatively impact health and well-being. Opportunities are driven by the potential to fully engage young people in all aspects of climate action. Realizing and fulfilling these opportunities must be global strategic priorities that will require current and future coordinated responses from all sectors of society, particularly in Africa