YOUNGO: UNFCCC constituency of Youth Non-Governmental Organizations
YOUNGO is the official children and youth constituency of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). YOUNGO is a vibrant, global network of children and youth activists (up to 35 years) as well as youth NGOs, who contribute to shaping the intergovernmental climate change policies and strive to empower youth to formally bring their voices to the UNFCCC processes.
In 2009, the UNFCCC secretariat extended constituency status to admitted youth NGOs. YOUNGO’s vision is to empower children and youth to take action and works to enhance their skills and capacity to drive the necessary and ambitious climate actions and policies at all levels towards a livable climate just future. YOUNGO representatives make official statements, provide technical and policy inputs to negotiations and engage with decision-makers at the UN climate change conferences, and promote youth participation in climate change projects at local and national levels.
YOUNGO focuses on the following areas:
1) Awareness, Knowledge and Capacity Building
2) Collaboration, Cooperation and Network
3) Policy, Lobby and Advocacy
4) Youth Action
YOUNGO Focal Points
| 2022 | |
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Elizabeth Gulugulu |
Elizabeth Gulugulu is an Msc Candidate in Biodiversity Conservation, and a member of African Youth Initiative on Climate Change Zimbabwe. She is interested in youth participation in Climate Change Policy and has led several consultations on meaningful youth engagement in National Adaptation Plans and Nationally Determined Contributions. |
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Xan Northcott |
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The details for YOUNGO focal points from preceding years can be found below.
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Marie-Claire Graf |
Marie-Claire Graf is a Swiss youth advocate and change maker for just sustainable development and ambitious climate action through her diverse engagement in several initiatives around all dimensions of sustainability on a local, national and international level. It’s her aspiration to inspire and empower youth to take meaningful, impactful and positive actions to create a momentum for change. She was initiating and is leading several associations in the fields of climate action, sustainable development, youth and women empowerment and education. Since COP23 she is a member of YOUNGO and the Bottom-Lining Team and joined COP25 as member of the Swiss Delegation as expert on ACE and negotiator for PCCP, technology transfer and gender issues. Recently she was awarded as United Nations Youth Climate Champion for Switzerland. |
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Heeta Lakhani |
Heeta is a firm believer in the power of the young people in grassroots as well as international processes and policies. She has attended multiple United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) climate change negotiations since COP21, Paris in 2015. She is currently the Executive Director (India) for the 11th World Wilderness Congress (WILD11) which was scheduled to be convened in Jaipur, India in March 2020 and aimed to straddle the overarching issues related to biodiversity conservation, economics and climate change. She is a Global Mentor with the POP (Protect Our Planet) Movement, Inc. a youth movement aimed to address the issues of climate change faced by our planet using knowledge-based solutions. In 2017, Heeta started her own program in Mumbai, India called Green Warriors. She educates school students on climate change and aims to bridge the knowledge gap on climate science as well as international processes among the children in Mumbai, who are at the forefront of facing the impacts of climate change in the coming years. |
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Serena Bashal |
Serena is the International Youth NGOs Officer and Recruitment Coordinator for the national youth organisation, the UK Youth Climate Coalition, having been a member for three years. She is based in the UK and is currently studying an undergraduate degree in Mathematics and Biology at Keele University where she is strongly advocating for more ambitious Paris Agreement implementation after the university’s 2019 climate emergency declaration. She is coordinating the UK’s first Local Conference of Youth to inspire and empower British youth by acting locally whilst thinking globally. She has lobbied local, national and international governments and has attended several conferences and forums across the globe. Her experience with UNFCCC Sessions spans between COP22, COP23, SB48.2, COP24 and SB50. As Focal Point, Serena aims to close the gaps between Global North and Global South youth participation in the international climate space and mobilise and empower British youth to take ambitious climate action. |
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Chiagozie Udeh
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Chiagozie is a Nigerian expert on global climate policy and African politics, focusing on renewable energy, loss and damage and climate finance thematics. Chiagozie is the Secretary of the Global Executive Board and a Programme Coordinator in Nigeria for Plant-for-the-Planet. Through the Trillion Trees campaign, Chiagozie explores ways to get Member States and private sector organizations to set ambitious afforestation targets to reduce carbon emissions by 25% in 2030. He was the 2017 Regional Focal Point for the Oceans working group of the UN Major Group for Children and Youth. In the African Union’s ECOSOC Committee he is the Coordinator of the Energy thematic group. Contributing to Africa's clean energy revolution with his multinational solar energy startup AFROwatt Express, he aims to sustainably electrify rural communities. Chiagozie’s latest work highlights Nigeria’s current security challenges owing to desertification, drought and other effects of climate change; one of his policy briefs won the Cambridge Climate Lecture Series 2018 and was published by the Ecologist. His next focus is on helping African countries to build proactive disaster risk reduction structures |
 Clara von Glasow |
Clara is a law student based in Germany. She is a member of the Youth Alliance for Future Energies (Jugendbündnis Zukunftsenergie) and was a member of the organising team of the 13. Conference of Youth (COY13). She has attended the Intersessional Conference SB46 as well as COP23 in Bonn and primarily focussed on the field of Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE). Clara strongly believes that youth involvement in the UNFCCC processes is of high importance as the decisions will effect the young and the future generations immensly. As YOUNGO focal point from the Global North Clara aims to support other young people to participate in our common way forward to save our own future and that of our planet. |
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Joanna Read |
Joanna is based in the UK, and works as an environmental consultant. She has been part of UKYCC (UK Youth Climate Coalition) for 3 years, and has attended 5 UNFCCC events so far (3 Intersessional Conferences in Bonn, COP21 in Paris and COP22 in Marrakesh). She passionately believes young people should have a voice in all decision making processes concerning climate change, because the solution lies in the younger generation. Within YOUNGO Joanna has mainly been active in the working group on long term goal/mitigation taking part in YOUNGO Actions. She loves connecting with different people and being inspired by new friends taking amazing action against climate change. Joanna hopes to use the role of being the focal point for the Global North to facilitate enhanced youth participation in the fight against climate change, within the UNFCCC and beyond. |
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Karuna Rana |
Karuna Rana is the co-founder and executive director of SIDS Youth AIMS Hub (SYAH), the first regional, youth-led organization aimed at advancing sustainable development across Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in Africa and Asia. Her extensive 7-year experience in the environmental and youth development area spans across grassroots actions, advocacy and reducing the ecological footprint of organizations - within non-profits, corporations and inter-governmental organizations alike. Through prior roles such as UNEP Tunza Youth Advisor for Africa and Organising Partner for SIDS for the UN Major Group for Children and Youth, Karuna has lobbied governments and coordinated the participation of young people at the Rio+20 Summit, the African Union and the 3rd International Conference on SIDS. In addition to her role within SYAH, Karuna is the coordinator of the Commonwealth Youth Climate Change Network (CYCN). |
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Timothy Damon |
Timothy Damon has been deeply engaged in the UNFCCC space since COP17 and his work has largely focused on championing the principle of Intergenerational Equity, which was recognized in the Paris Agreement, while also building the capacity of YOUNGO to advocate for youth policy priorities. |
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Miriam Carolina Somocurcio Holguín |
Miriam Somocurcio from Cusco, Peru has been engaged with YOUNGO since COP 20 as a member of the Bottom Lining Team and the Human Rights Working Group. |
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Nathan Thanki |
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Ruth Nyambura |
 Sabrina Marquant |
Sabrina is a Senior Policy Advisor and Advocacy Officer in Climate Diplomacy with a specific focus on community resilience facing interconnected and cascading risks. Specialised in improving integrated risk management in the face of escalating climate impacts, her current work focuses on the coherence of Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR), the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Development Agenda in the development, the implementation and the monitoring of national DRR and adaptation plans and strategies. At the UN Climate Talks, she is tracking the discussion on adaptation and loss and damage. |
 Danaé Espinoza
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Berenice Danaé Espinoza H. is an Internationalist who graduated from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). She is co-founder of Movimiento de Jóvenes Latinoamericanos y Caribeños frente al Cambio Climático (CLIC!). Former YOUNGO Global South Focal Point to UNFCCC (2014). She has been part of the official Mexican Delegation of negotiators as a member of the CSOs working directly in the Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) negotiations of the UNFCCC. As part of the Education, Communication & Outreach Stakeholders Community (ECOS), she serves as the acting co-liaison for the Latin American & the Caribbean region. She is the co-author of the book “Young people towards 2030. Innovation for transformation: Contributions for Reflection”, a UNFPA publication in Mexico in collaboration with the Mexican Institute of Youth (IMJUVE) to make visible the importance of having the participation of young people in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. She has been part of the development and implementation of capacity building projects in climate change for youth in the Latin American region. |
 Jamie Peters |
Jamie is currently Director of Campaigns at Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland. He has previously led campaigns against fracking in England and been a community organiser across the country. |
 Liangyi Chang |
Liangyi is now with 350.org Asia team as Managing director. His concerns about Climate Change started from 2009, he has established the 1st youth climate organization in Taiwan, Taiwan Youth Climate Coalition and participated in UNFCCC’s 15th Conference of the Parties till global south focal point in 2013. With the belief of future generations, he even initiated project to South pacific islands in 2010 for sea level raising witness and 2041 project to Antarctica in 2013 for ice melting investigation tour. Then, he continuously supported youths organizations across the Asia region with the belief of change for a better future. |
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MJ Shaio |
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 Abhishek Shrestha |
Abhishek is a Chevening Scholar who graduated in Masters in Climate Change and policy from University of Sussex, UK in 2013. He received “Climate Change Award” in 2017 from the Government of Nepal for his work on climate policy and advocacy. He has decade-long experience working as an activist, researcher, campaigner, policy analyst and strategic communicator at national and international levels on climate change and environmental governance. He has also been awarded the “JWH Initiative Environment” leadership Award 2017. He is the co-founder and leads the climate justice program at Digo Bikas Institute, a research and advocacy organization based in Kathmandu. He has served as contributing author for the Government of Nepal publications on key issues at various UN climate change conferences and was also a member of the Nepali government delegation at COP 23 in 2017. |
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Lauren Nutter |
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Jean Paul Brice Affana |
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Sébastien Duyck |
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Rishikesh Ram Bhandary |
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Wilson Ang |
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 Lina Li |
Lina Li is a Senior Manager Carbon Markets and Pricing at adelphi working on emissions trading and market mechanisms. She is a specialist in carbon markets, low-emissions development, and climate and foreign policy with more than ten years of experience. Lina holds a master’s degree in International Politics from the School of International Studies of the Peking University and a bachelor’s degree in diplomacy from the Renmin University of China. She was selected as one of the 50 students to attend the 2041 Antarctic Expedition in 2009 and is also a member of the Global Diplomacy Lab, the Sino-German Future Bridge (Zukunftsbrücke – 未来之桥), and the BMW Foundation Responsible Leaders Network. |