Around 200 young climate leaders from across the world have called for urgent action on loss and damage, warning that delayed financial support is putting millions of lives at risk.
Speaking at the Global Youth Climate Summit 2025 on Friday (April 4), they demanded that wealthier nations fulfill their obligations and ensure that frontline communities receive direct and timely assistance.
Moderated by Sohanur Rahman, Executive Coordinator of YouthNet Global, the virtual youth plenary focused on youth leadership in advocating for climate justice, equitable finance, and reparations for affected communities.
Sohanur, who hails from Bangladesh, a country facing rising sea levels and extreme weather, said the fight for loss and damage finance is about justice, not charity.
“The Global South is paying the price for a crisis it did not create,” Sohanur said. “We need a system that prioritizes those who need support the most, not bureaucratic delays and political games.”
The session, hosted by the Global Youth Leadership Center, featured influential youth advocates from climate-vulnerable regions. Sneha Rai from Prakriti Resources Centre Nepal emphasized the need for locally led loss and damage assessments. “Frontline communities already have the knowledge to address climate impacts,” she said. “What they need are resources and recognition.”
Abdul Mufeez Shaheed from Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change highlighted legal efforts to hold major polluting nations accountable. His organization played a key role in securing an International Court of Justice (ICJ) Advisory Opinion on climate obligations. “This is not just an environmental issue, it is a human rights issue,” Shaheed stated. “Legal accountability will push world leaders to act for the present and future generation.”
Meanwhile, Samuel Chijioke Okorie from the Loss and Damage Youth Coalition, who is a board member of the UNFCCC Santiago Network on Loss and damage, pointed out the flaws in the current climate finance system. “The money exists, but frontline communities cannot access it,” he said. “The process is filled with red tape, making it nearly impossible for those most affected to get the help they need.”
Okorie stressed that loss and damage is not just about finance but about intergenerational justice, fairness, and solidarity. “We must acknowledge historical responsibility and ensure that no country or community is left behind,” he said. “The real question is: how do we center the voices of those most affected? How do we turn political promises into real action?”
While the Loss and Damage Fund, secured at UN Climate Conference COP27 in Sharm El Shaikh, was seen as a major victory, activists say financial commitments remain far below the estimated 400 billion dollars needed annually. The Fifth Board Meeting in May 2025 is expected to finalize operational mechanisms and eligibility criteria, but concerns remain over delays in implementation.
With the June 2025 High-Level Dialogue on the horizon, youth activists are increasing pressure on world leaders to step up. “This is a question of survival,” Shaheed said. “We need direct, accessible funding—without delays and without conditions.”
The youth-led movement is demanding scaled-up financial commitments, a transparent and equitable fund allocation process, and innovative financing mechanisms, including fossil fuel taxes, debt cancellation, and reparations. They argue that climate-vulnerable nations should not be burdened with further debt to recover from disasters they did not cause.
For Sohanur Rahman and many others, the urgency is clear. “In Bangladesh, families are already losing their homes to floods,” he said. “This is not a future crisis—it is happening now. And unless action is taken, millions more will be displaced.”
With COP30 approaching in Belem, young leaders insist that loss and damage finance must move beyond rhetoric. “The world has made enough promises,” Sohanur said. “Now it’s time for real action.”
