UNDP Youth4Climate Call for Solutions 2025: Global Innovation challenge for climate projects (up to USD 30,000 in seed funding)

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Closing Date: 26 May

UNDP Youth4Climate Call for Solutions 2025: Global Innovation challenge for climate projects (up to USD 30,000 in seed funding)

What is the Call for Solutions?

Youth4Climate’s Call for Solutions 2025 is out now!! UNDP has returned with its 3rd round of funding and learning opportunities, to support youth-led climate solutions in 6 thematic areas.  

Call for Solutions

UNDP Youth4Climate Call for Solutions is a global innovation challenge for Youth and Youth-led organizations working on climate action focused projects. The Global Innovation challenge aims to fund new and existing youth-led solutions that are ready to implement or scale, and to support the further development of young people’s ideas and projects by providing relevant learning opportunities with the support of partners.

Call for Solutions 2025

In 2025, the UNDP Youth4Climate Call for Solutions launches its third round of funding opportunities for young people aged 18 to 29 and youth-led entities. Applicants to the Call for Solutions can request up to USD 30,000 in seed funding and successful applicants will also benefit from:

Connections and visibility at country, regional and global levels that may enable scaling and growth of their projects.
Capacity development offers include a mentorship programme consisting of group workshops, one-to-one mentorship, and project pitching and feedback opportunities.

Proposals, if successful, can be implemented over a maximum of 24 months. Proposals can be submitted in English, French, Spanish or Portuguese.

Who can apply?

Young Individuals who meet the remainder of the eligibility criteria
A legally registered, youth-led civil society organization (CSO), non-governmental organization (NGO), community-based organization (CBO), or company with the majority of the organization’s leadership being young people aged 18-29 years at the time of submitting the application.
The proposed project must be implemented in one of the countries listed in the Call guidelines.
The project lead must be a national of one of the countries listed in the Annex of the Call guidelines.

A look into this year’s thematic areas

The 2025 Call will fund youth-led solutions in 6 thematic areas:

Sustainable Energy
Food and Agriculture
Climate and Health
Digital for Planet
Climate, Peace and Security
Nature for Climate Action

Solutions may naturally address more than one of these areas, though applicants will be asked to identify one primary focus area.

Sustainable Energy

The world stands at a pivotal moment in the energy transition. 2025 will be a defining year in the global energy transition, with renewables set to become the world’s largest source of electricity for the first time in history; driving a sustainable energy revolution that will reshape development. However, with record-breaking temperatures persisting, urgent action is needed to ensure a just and sustainable transition.

In this context, the following are needed to drive transformative action:

expanding renewable energy adoption;
leveraging digitalization and AI for optimized energy systems;
mobilizing innovative financing mechanisms; and
scaling decentralized energy solutions to reach underserved communities.

Food and Agriculture

Global food systems are at a breaking point, contributing to environmental degradation, food insecurity, and socioeconomic inequality. Food systems account for 31% of human produced global greenhouse gas emissions, 80% of deforestation, 70% of biodiversity loss, and 70% of freshwater use. At the same time, 2.4 billion people face moderate or severe food insecurity, and 42% of the global population cannot afford a healthy diet. Crises such as conflicts, climate shocks, and economic disruptions have intensified these challenges, particularly in fragile contexts. Solutions to these challenges can include but are not limited to:

agroecology and regenerative agriculture to restore soil health, reduce reliance on synthetic inputs, and promote sustainable practices;
reducing food waste through local initiatives like composting or sharing platforms;
strengthening local food markets to improve access to diverse and nutritious diets;
fostering collaborative efforts through inclusive and open discussions, ensuring unified action on food, climate, and biodiversity for real, lasting change.

Climate and Health

The climate crisis is a health crisis. Extreme weather events, including floods and heatwaves, as well as the spread of infectious diseases, increase demand for health services while simultaneously threatening the health sector’s ability to provide care by interrupting power lines, damaging or destroying facilities, and hindering access. Importantly, the climate crisis amplifies health inequities, disproportionately impacting marginalized communities today, while threatening the long-term health and well-being of children and young people.

This priority area of the Call seeks to enhance health-inclusive climate planning and actions led by young people, and solutions that contribute to ensuring that the health needs of young people and other marginalized groups are adequately met.

Digital for Planet

Digital technologies hold immense potential for both mitigating and adapting to climate change and preserving and restoring biodiversity. Digital not only enables the development of innovations that drive climate action but also offers powerful tools and solutions to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, protect and restore nature, and improve climate resilience.

Under this priority area, the Youth4Climate Call is seeking solutions addressing nature and climate crises through:

the use of frontier digital technologies;
digital technologies that respond to sector-specific needs;
initiatives that leverage digital technologies to generate values shift by transforming behaviours and narratives surrounding nature and climate crises.

Climate, Peace and Security

Climate change is reshaping global peace and security, acting as a threat multiplier that exacerbates vulnerabilities, disrupts livelihoods, and increases conflict risks, especially in fragile and conflict-affected contexts. Countries most affected by both climate and conflict also suffer the lowest levels of access to climate finance, adaptation and energy.

To mark the 10th anniversary of the Youth, Peace and Security agenda, this area of the Call will seek solutions for peace-positive climate adaptation and mitigation, including but not limited to:

promoting access to clean energy, water, participatory natural resource management and sustainable livelihoods:
enhancing social cohesion, fostering dialogue and cooperation to strengthen peace processes in contexts of climate vulnerability:
addressing climate-induced displacement and vulnerability to violent extremism among youth, supporting integration of youth returnees recruited by extremist groups back into society.

Nature for Climate Action

Biodiversity is fundamental to human well-being, a healthy planet, and economic prosperity for all people. Natural ecosystems are our most powerful ally in the fight against climate change. Healthy ecosystems absorb carbon, regulate climate and protect communities from extreme weather. Yet, deforestation, land degradation, wetland loss and ocean decline accelerate global warming and heighten vulnerabilities, with nature loss costing the global economy trillions of dollars.

To meet climate goals, we must shift from exploiting nature to valuing it, driving behavioural change and integrating it into governance, economics, finance, health and conservation. Nature-based solutions can provide 37% of our climate mitigation needs to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. This priority area seeks a broad range of solutions linked to ecosystem conservation and restoration.