Green Rising
Mobilising Millions of Young People to Protect their Communities from the Climate Crisis
Heatwaves, deepening droughts, rising floods, and a planet in peril—a generation of young people are inheriting a world that is already in a climate crisis. More than one in three youth surveyed in a recent study by UNICEF USA experience extremely high levels of anxiety about climate change.
Yet, despite their anxiety, young people are responding to the climate crisis with optimism and action. Across the globe, a powerful climate movement of young people is emerging, rising to the challenge and taking grassroots actions to safeguard their own futures and the well-being of their communities.
For millions of young people, climate change is already a matter of life and death. They're saying, "We need to do something now!"
That's why a coalition led by UNICEF and Generation Unlimited alongside a truly global consortium of public, private, and youth partners teamed up in 2023 to launch the Green Rising at COP28 with a goal to help 10 million young people be the climate advocates their communities need by 2025.
Young people’s eagerness to work with us on climate issues have surpassed all expectations. In less than one year, over 11 million young people have stepped up to take green actions, blowing past our three-year target of 10 million! We have now doubled our ambition, now aiming to mobilise 20 million young people by end 2026 through volunteerism, advocacy, and green skills, jobs and entrepreneurship.
Green Rising is supported by our Lead Government Partners Canada and the State of Qatar. The lead private sector partner of Green Rising is Capgemini. Other partners include Accenture, IKEA Foundation, SAP, Tony Elumelu Foundation, Unilever, Goodwall, and the World Organization of the Scouts Movement.
Green Rising is supporting youth climate action globally, ensuring that the most vulnerable youth receive the education, skills, opportunities and the power to contribute to a just green transition. That means helping them to take concrete green actions to protect their communities and mitigate the devastating impacts of climate change.
What Climate Action Looks Like
India
Removing over 15,000 kgs of waste from the Ganga river with more than 25 million pro-planet actions on the #MeriLiFE app for environmental conservation.
Brazil
Mobilising to close open-air dumps in the Semiarid region and influencing public policy to demand stricter waste management practices.
Nigeria
Young people, school children and volunteers planting 6,900 plants across 55 primary health centers and 94 school premiese to mark the Green Rising launch in Nigeria.
South Africa
The Recycling Champions (ReCha) project is recruiting unemployed youth to operate micro waste management buy-back centers while providing them with start-up and business training.
Uganda
Harvesting invasive water hyacinth from Lake Victoria and converting it into renewable cooking energy, organic fertilizers, and animal feeds.
Mongolia
Monitoring air pollution and advocating for improved air quality.
Jordan
Engaging over 35,000 local youth in more than 200,000 hours of environmental services, planting over 7,000 trees and collecting over 10,000 kg of recyclable materials.
Kazakhstan
Educating over 30,000 children on eco-friendly practices to reduce plastic use and campaigning to ban single-use plastics in schools.