Group photo of workshop participants
Young Cameroonians are calling for stronger action to turn the country’s climate commitments into concrete solutions for communities affected by climate change.
The call was made during the two-day Local Conference of Youth, LCOY Cameroon, held in Yaoundé from 22 to 23 September ahead of COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye.
Convened by the LCOY Cameroon Coalition, with Support Humanity Cameroon, SUHUCAM, as lead organisation, the meeting brought together young people from all ten regions to discuss climate policy, implementation and youth participation in decision-making. Young people living with disabilities also took part throughout the two-day meeting and contributed actively to the discussions, bringing their perspectives to the conversations on inclusive climate action.
Discussions covered Cameroon’s Nationally Determined Contribution, NDC 3.0, the National Adaptation Plan and locally driven approaches to climate resilience.
During the opening ceremony, institutional leaders highlighted that meaningful youth inclusion is essential for sustainable climate mitigation and adaptation. Timothée Kagombe, UNFCCC Focal Point for Cameroon, stressed that because young people will bear the long-term impacts of climate change in the coming decades, they must be actively equipped with technical policy knowledge, accredited and integrated into official government delegations to global climate summits.
Highlighting the distinct vulnerabilities across Cameroon’s diverse geographic zones, Mrs. Juliette Haeni, Deputy Representative at UNICEF Cameroon, emphasized that youth are uniquely positioned to lead community-level resilience.
From tree planting initiatives to emergency responses, such as deploying sandbags during severe flooding in the Far North to ensure school access, youth initiatives such as U-Reporters demonstrate practical leadership.
UNDP representative, Aime Kamga, urged young people to move beyond waiting for institutional solutions by embracing entrepreneurship, innovation and partnerships to address challenges in their communities. He said the climate crisis is not waiting, and so too should the solutions. He shared the various opportunities promoted by UNDP to support youth climate action and biodiversity conservation in Cameroon.
Prior to the conference, LCOY Cameroon coordinated regional and national youth consultations to broaden and strengthen youth participation in developing the National Youth Statement.
The statement brings together young Cameroonians’ priorities and recommendations ahead of COP31.
The organisers say the key message from LCOY Cameroon 2026 is that climate commitments at every level must translate into concrete action that responds to the needs of communities on the frontline of climate change. Among other demands, the youth call on the government to establish a predictable, transparent and genuinely accessible national youth climate adaptation fund to support grassroots and youth-led adaptation initiatives. They also urged the government to pursue land reforms that secure the rights of youth, women and indigenous communities to sustainable and equitable access to land
Workshop deliberations