The 3rd Youth Environment Assembly (YEA), held ahead of UNEA-7 and the OECPR sessions this past weekend, was more than a pre-summit gathering. Rather, it was a clear signal that young people are stepping decisively into global environmental governance with confidence.
Youth are joining not as side participants but as contributors shaping policy direction, demanding accountability, and grounding negotiations in lived experience.
In her remarks to the youth from around the globe, Elizabeth Mrema, the deputy executive director at UNEP, pointed out that over 2,000 youth leaders showed once again that youth are not the future; they are partners shaping the world of today.
What unfolded over two days inside the UN compound was a reminder of how much the centre of gravity is shifting. Youth spaces are no longer symbolic; they are becoming substantive, a conviction that this year’s Assembly strongly affirmed.
Day two opened with the Medium-Term Strategy Dialogue for 2026–2029, where UNEP laid out its priorities, from pollution and climate resilience to environmental data systems and nature restoration. The sessions were both empowering and sobering, given the magnitude of the challenges.
Yet it also highlighted the potential of strategic, youth-led intervention, especially when young people are equipped with the tools, science, and policy fluency needed to influence outcomes.
A capacity-building session on Generation Restoration reinforced this point for young people; it’s an opportunity to emulate best practices that offer solutions. Youth participants explored ecosystem restoration practices, financing models, and rights-based approaches, knowledge essential for pushing credible and durable policy change.
“Your energy, advocacy & science-driven action give multilateralism its heartbeat,” jibed Elizabeth Mrema
The launch of the Global Waste Management Outlook 2024 was another major highlight. Developed by UNEP, ISWA, and CYMG, the report reframes waste through justice, circularity, and intergenerational equity.
Its themes resonate strongly with Kenya’s experience, where communities often bear the brunt of unmanaged waste yet remain at the heart of localised circular solutions.
The afternoon further offered a chance for the unveiling of YouthToBeatPollution, a rights-based global youth movement mobilising action on pollution governance.
For young people working at the intersections of climate, health, and community data, this campaign arrives at a defining moment, bridging global frameworks with local realities.
Kenya’s Youth Push for Stronger Recognition
Kenya Youth Climate Advisory Council (KYCAC) made several key contributions, calling for the declaration to firmly recognise national youth expert bodies such as KYCAC. They also pushed for strengthened science-to-policy pathways and emphasised the urgency of air quality and pollution governance.
Another central issue raised was the need to address climate–debt vulnerabilities affecting young people across the Global South. Participants further stressed the importance of integrating youth- and community-generated data into global monitoring frameworks.
These positions were grounded in Kenya’s social, economic, and environmental realities and anchored within the wider African context, transforming representation into meaningful influence.
Leaving the UN compound, it became clear that something had shifted. For many participants, stepping into the United Nations was not an exercise in observation but one of contribution, questioning, proposing, and shaping.
For years, youth engagement has been praised but rarely prioritised, as seen in the constant call for meaningful inclusion. At the 3rd YEA, the tone was different since young people were not asking for visibility; they were demanding structure, law, resources, and decision-making power.
Kenya’s youth continue to demonstrate their readiness to take on this mantle with determination and dedication to addressing global environmental challenges.
Reflections That Will Shape the Road Ahead
Speakers throughout the Assembly shared reflections that continue to resonate beyond the sessions. One critical point was that climate action must translate into green jobs.
Young innovators are already leading; what is needed now is an enabling environment that turns their efforts into sustainable livelihoods, ensuring purpose and prosperity can coexist.
Another recurring message was that meaningful youth engagement is more than representation. It requires investment, trust, and recognition of youth expertise.
Climate finance, the persistent elephant in multilateral climate processes, was also central. Youth participants emphasised the need for financing to reach the ground, noting that many youth-led ideas stall due to inadequate funding. Access to finance, they emphasized, is the bridge between potential and progress.
Young people also urged governments to take up their defining role in areas such as e-waste recycling, green technologies, research centres, and sustainable mining. Political will ultimately shapes the pace and direction of climate action.
The Assembly, organised by the Children and Youth Major Group to UNEP, remains the largest global young people forum feeding into UNEA. Its mandate is to sharpen advocacy skills, forge strong policy positions, and strengthen the Global Youth Declaration, which will guide youth engagement in UNEA-7 negotiations.
Above all, YEA 2025 reaffirmed a powerful truth: youth voices are not peripheral to environmental governance. They are shaping resolutions, influencing negotiations, and strengthening intergenerational decision-making in real time.
As emphasized by Joseph Nguthiru, founder of Hyapak and 2025 Earth Champion that impactful climate action should create jobs, and youths should be considered as active participants in decision-making processes and not as observers.
As Kenya’s youth continue pushing for accountability, stronger science–policy interfaces, climate justice, and a green economy that works for all, we move closer to the sustainable future our generation is ready to build.
