Ahead COP 30, Youth from Nigeria’s Oil Communities Demand Coastal Resilience Projects, Youth Climate Fund
By Ekemini Simon
As the world prepares for the 30th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change slated to take place in Belém, Brazil, in November 2025, the youth of South South Nigeria have called for the provision and funding of youth-led mangrove restoration and coastal resilience projects together with the establishment of a Regional Youth Climate Fund.
South-South Nigeria made up of Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Delta, Bayelsa, Edo and Cross River State is a key part of the Niger Delta, an epicenter of oil exploration, and mining activities in the country. The area has over the years been plagued by pollution and climate crisis.
At the 2025 South-South Regional Local Conference of Youth (LCOY Nigeria) convened by Clement Isong Foundation (CIF), in partnership with ActionAid Nigeria, Local Conference of Youth (LCOY Nigeria) and YOUNGO (Youth Constituency to the UNFCCC), on Tuesday, October 21, 2025 in Uyo, the youth of South-South Nigeria said the establishment of a Regional Youth Climate Fund will support innovative projects, assist the youth to leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) for transparency in fund management.
In the statement, the youth observed that they are key drivers of the just transition which will lead solutions for climate justice, energy transition, and sustainable livelihoods.
They noted that climate justice is a moral and human rights issue that demands intergenerational collaboration and inclusive governance.
The youth insisted that agroecology, renewable energy, and innovation are powerful pathways for resilience and green job creation hence governments at various levels and private actors must move from policy drafting to implementation, ensuring youth are part of decision-making spaces.
They asked for promotion of agroecology and organic farming for climate-friendly food systems.
They called for the adoption of a 40 percent renewable energy target by 2030 across the region, the institutionalisation of youth representation in environmental policy councils and integration of climate education into school curricula and gender-responsive budgeting.
Earlier in his opening remarks, the Executive Director of the Clement Isong Foundation, Comrade Elkanah Oluyori called on the youth to take ownership of climate solutions rather than wait to be included.
He charged the youths not to see themselves only as victims but to wake up and become vanguards of the crisis adding that climate action on the path of the youth need courage, innovation, and leadership which will build sustainable alternatives for the society.
In the keynote address by the Executive Director of Policy Alert and Interim Chairman of Akwa Ibom State Civil Society Forum, Tijah Bolton-Akpan, he said the theme of the event, ‘Youth at the Forefront of Climate Justice: Accelerating Action for a Just Transition’ implied that time is racing against the youth if urgent climate action is not taken.
He called for justice centered climate action, accountability in the fossil fuel sector, and youth inclusion in policy frameworks warning that the youth should not be caught in the web of false climate solutions.
Bolton-Akpan said there is a need to demand transparency in climate finance and equitable representation of frontline communities.
On her part, Dr. Caroline Gordian, Project Lead of CIF, delivering an overview of the Strategic Partnership Agreement II (SPA II) project, implemented by ActionAid Nigeria in partnership with DANIDA said that when youths are equipped with the right tools and platforms, “they become active creators of change, not passive recipients of aid.”