Pacific youth call for child-centred climate action at Vanuatu forum

Young people from across the Pacific are demanding that children be placed at the heart of climate change decision-making, as policymakers gather in Vanuatu for the Pacific Innovation Forum on Climate and Environment (PIFCE). Save the Children's NextGen Youth Ambassadors are actively participating, emphasizing that children and youth bring vital creativity and fresh perspectives to the global climate dialogue.

"Children will be most affected by climate change, and our voices must be central to climate discussions shaping our future," stated NextGen Youth Ambassador Vepaiamele. "We are asking for the space, agency and resources to lead solutions in our own Pacific way." The ambassadors stressed the need for real power and platforms to shape solutions, asserting that children's futures are directly tied to the outcomes of these critical climate talks.

The forum also provided a platform to showcase significant climate resilience initiatives. Save the Children highlighted its involvement in projects like the Vanuatu Community-Based Climate Resilience Project (VCCRP), a USD32.7 million initiative supporting 282 communities to reduce climate risks and build locally led adaptation systems. Additionally, the USD31.8 million Solomon Islands Knowledge-Action-Sustainability for Resilient Villages (SOLKAS) project aims to strengthen climate resilience in 170 vulnerable communities.

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Children will be most affected by climate change, and our voices must be central to climate discussions shaping our future. We are asking for the space, agency and resources to lead solutions in our own Pacific way.

Further examples of impactful climate action include the Building Resilience and Adaptation for Children and Communities through the Education Sector (BRACE) project, a five-year, USD46.7 million initiative focused on strengthening education systems in Tonga, Cambodia, and South Sudan against intensifying climate hazards. These projects underscore a commitment to child-centered, locally led climate action backed by substantial investment.

Save the Children Vanuatu Country Director Relvie Matariki noted that PIFCE is a crucial opportunity to connect youth leadership with evidence from these large-scale programs. "Across the Pacific, children are living with the consequences of climate change and leading solutions," she said. "Through programmes like VCCRP and SOLKAS, and through the leadership of young people, we are demonstrating that climate action is strongest when it is child-centred, locally led and backed by meaningful investment."

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Across the Pacific, children are living with the consequences of climate change and leading solutions. Through programmes like VCCRP and SOLKAS, and through the leadership of young people, we are demonstrating that climate action is strongest when it is child-centred, locally led and backed by meaningful investment.