By Francis Ntow
Accra, Aug 31, GNA – Youth climate advocates are championing a fundamental shift by funders, governments and institutions, from global climate pledges to concrete action on the ground, prioritising youth inclusion in innovation and policy implementation.
At the 2026 Local Conference of Youth (LCOY) Ghana, held online over the weekend, the young climate advocates noted that the time had come for institutional willingness to cede power and resources to a generation determined to build rather than inherit crisis.
They argued that while talks about climate change continued, billions of metric tonnes of carbon were being pumped into the environment, a problem that requires concrete actions to engineer Ghana’s green economic future.
Mr Chibbeze Ezekiel, the Executive Coordinator, Strategic Youth Network for Development (SYND), argued that the youth had been systematically sidelined from solutions development even as the world approached 32 years of the Conference of the Parties (COP – 32).
“Young people ought to be at the centre of the climate conversation; they must lead change rather than serve as audiences to decisions made by older generations,” Mr Chibbeze said.
He said while global frameworks, African regional policies, and Ghana’s national youth policy emphasised youth involvement in decision-making, implementation remained inconsistent.
“Governments often hold high-profile events with speeches and photo opportunities while calling it youth inclusion, but we must allow the youth to speak the language of policy makers – develop position papers, policy briefs and implementation recommendations,” he said.
Mr Makafui Awuku, Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Mckingtorch Africa, cited innovations by young people in building sustainable communities, including urban flood control measures as a reason for their inclusion and support from all quarters.
He said his organisation had produced over 500 school desks in the past year, built a tourism space using 1.6 million recycled plastic bags, and created Africa’s first plastic waste bar shelter in Accra.
It had also trained head porters (Kayayei) to transition from street vending to circular economy business models, with some subsequently gaining university admission to enrich their knowledge in environmental innovation to support economic mobility.
“If our communities are not sustainable for everybody, then sustainability fails for everyone, and we have our youth implementing solutions to protect the environment and human livelihoods. This is where authorities must bring the youth on board,” he explained.
Mr Awuku called for local solutions to Africa’s climate challenges, saying “solutions imported from Europe, the United States, or Asia frequently fail when implemented locally without adaptation.”
Mr Ephraim Niyajumoku Danso, Grants Lead, African Sustainability Lab, identified transport as Africa’s forgotten climate issue, noting that the sector functioned as “the connective tissue” linking all economic and social activity.
He advocated making all policies ‘human-centric’ rather than system-focused, ensuring youth and women found “breathing room to innovate within existing frameworks.”
Mr Danso noted that despite the inclusion of 17 core sustainability goals and 169 targets in global climate action frameworks, policies had not translated into ground-level action, adding; “We must move from policy to practice.
He encouraged youth in climate not to relent on developing pipeline initiatives that would attract the needed funding, arguing that innovation and value addition distinguished projects worthy of investor attention.
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe
Reporter: Francis Ntow