Youth Digital Innovation Leads Climate Action: COP30 Side Event Showcases Sustainable Solutions

Belém, Brazil, November 13, 2025 – During the 30th UN Climate Change Conference (COP30), the UNITAR Singapore Centre’s “Global SDGs and Leadership Development Center”, in collaboration with the OSG Youth Alliance and the Global Alliance of Universities on Climate (GAUC), successfully organized the thematic event “Youth in Action: Digital Innovation for a Sustainable Planet” at the GAUC Pavilion. The session focused on youth-led digital climate solutions, promoting the transition of innovation from concepts to sustainable business models and scalable implementation.

The event brought together outstanding young innovators from ASEAN, Europe, Latin America, Africa, and other regions, including:
• Tinokunda Natalia Chimhowa from Botswana (Climate Mobility Fellow under the Global Centre for Climate Mobility hosted by UNOPS)
• Rongyu Liu, GAUC Youth Ambassador & Researcher from China (Tsinghua University)
• Ms. Céline DU, China Youth Ambassador (Deputy Director of International Affairs, All-China Environment Federation)
• Ms. Marie-Claire Graf, Switzerland Youth Ambassador (Co-Founder, the Youth Negotiators Academy)
• Mónica Belén Hernández-Bennettz, Mexican Youth Ambassador (PhD student, Tecnologico de Monterrey)
• Damir Prado from Chile (Founder and Co-Coordinator of the organization Chilwe Kimun)

Together with other global youth, they showcased practical cases across various fields, including low-carbon urban governance, climate finance, digital twin platforms, youth negotiator empowerment, and community adaptation technologies. The presentations covered not only technical prototypes and tools but also governance pathways, business models, and evaluation frameworks, systematically advancing replication and expansion “from pilot to scale.”

The meeting featured an “Intergenerational Dialogue” roundtable moderated by Danfeng Zhu, with opening remarks delivered by former UN Assistant Secretary-General Satya S. Tripathy. Participants engaged in practical discussions on experience transfer, cross-sector collaboration, market and policy access, and impact assessment, exploring synergistic pathways between supporting institutions and young innovators.

Youth representative Yubo Zhai (UNITAR SDGs Singapore Center Youth Committee; Vice President at New Link) announced action commitments and follow-up roadmaps in the closing remarks, emphasizing that youth are not merely beneficiaries of climate action but co-architects of a sustainable future. The outcomes will be compiled into an action brief, open for co-creation with global partners.

Background Information:

COP30 is held from November 10–21, 2025, in Belém, Brazil, coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement and following the first Global Stocktake.

Since 2023, GAUC has established an “Alliance Corner” at UNFCCC COPs, facilitating dialogue among youth, academia, governments, NGOs, and businesses.

The UNITAR Singapore Centre is committed to supporting youth leadership development at the nexus of SDGs and climate action through capacity-building and partnership networks.