Five young people laughing and talking together in front of a terracotta-red door

Shaping our shared futures.

Who we are?

A global platform for nurturing climate workers and changemakers from the Global Majority to co-create organisations, activations and decisions that shape our shared futures.

What we do

Decisions

Climate talks need global voices

People seated in a circle with their hands clasped, seen from the shoulders down
New Generation

Organisations

From initiatives to institutions

A group of smiling people seated side by side in a bright room
The Visionaries

Activations

The Boldest leadership comes from the corners

People raising joined hands together outdoors
The Troublemakers
A team of colleagues smiling and raising their hands together in a high five

Recent updates

Launch of the 5th New Generation Program Cycle

Six young leaders. Six contexts. One shared commitment to climate justice in the Global Majority.

We are headed to #ClimateWeekNYC

Since 2019:

  • 39+

    leaders

  • 29

    countries represented

  • 89%

    of alumni accessed key opportunities

  • 04

    UNFCCC vulnerable groups collaborated with

89 percent of alumni credit the program with helping them access key opportunities such as being recognized as knowledge providers and active negotiators of their official national climate delegations, admitted to academic programs, and securing jobs including positions within the UN.

Our fellows come from 29 countries across three regions: Africa (Burkina Faso, Burundi, Ethiopia, Guinea, Malawi, Mali, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe), Asia & Pacific (Fiji, Malaysia, Nepal, Palau, Philippines, Samoa, Timor-Leste and Vanuatu), and Latin America and the Caribbean (Argentina, Colombia, Commonwealth of Dominica, Dominican Republic, Panama and Peru).

Thought leadership on the negotiations on the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage (WIM), its Santiago Network on Loss and Damage (SNLD), the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD)

Collaborations with the chairs of four of the vulnerable groups under the UNFCCC including the African Group of Negotiators (AGN), Independent Alliance of Latin and Caribbean (AILAC), Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) and the Least Developed Countries (LDC) Group.

Theory of change

  1. The challenge

    Those closest to climate impacts, particularly leaders and communities in the Global Majority, remain underrepresented and under-resourced in the spaces where climate decisions are made, organisations are built and climate action is shaped.

  2. CLI’s response

    We accompany emerging and established Global Majority climate leaders through care-based, long-term leadership development that builds:

    • Capacity

      Technical + leadership skills

    • Power

      Agency + ability to navigate complexity

    • Connection

      Peers + mentors + networks

    • Context

      Lived experience + Global Majority knowledge

  3. Three pathways

    • Decisions

      The New Generation –

      Young leader from the Global Majority have greater presence, confidence and influence in climate decision-making spaces.

    • Organisations

      The Visionaries –

      Global Majority climate organisations are stronger, more resilient and better equipped to pursue long-term change.

    • Activations

      The Troublemakers –

      Changemakers generate bold, locally rooted climate

  4. Systems change

    More Global Majority leaders leading, collaborating and influencing across:

    Climate diplomacy | Civil society | Movements

    Campaigns | Organisations | Policy

    Climate diplomacy | Public discourse

  5. Long-term impact

    Climate decisions, organising and activism are increasingly shaped by leaders from the communities most affected by climate change

  6. Ultimate change

    Scaled up climate action and more equitable climate outcomes resulting in climate futures shaped by the knowledge, lived experiences and solutions of the Global Majority.

Our partners

Working alongside organisations who share our commitment to stronger, more representative climate leadership.

In their own words

Hear from the funders, partners, fellows and alumni whose experiences, growth and leadership sit at the heart of CLI.

“For many communities, Loss and Damage and Adaption is a present reality. It is felt in droughts, floods, heatwaves, crop failures, coastal erosions, displacement, public infrastructure and loss of livelihoods. It is also felt in the anxiety of young people who wonder whether the development gains of today will survive the climate shocks of tomorrow. That is why the New Generation program is important, to translate community realities into negotiations priorities.”

Nana Dr. Antwi-Boasiako Amoah

Chair of the African Group of Negotiators (AGN)

“CASA has been working alongside CLI since 2023 and we have always been really impressed with how engaged the alumni network is. That’s a true testament to the importance of the program.”

Declan Sharkey

Senior Manager, DAI Global UK and CASA

“We believe in the climate leaders that CLI fellows already are. And we hope that we can together push for a safer and fairer future for all.”

Melanie Bleil

Project Officer, Bread for the World

“The program didn’t just open doors - it gave me the belief that I deserve to walk through them.”

New Generation Program Alumni

“I have an important role to play - not just in attending climate negotiations, but in shaping the agenda and advancing my country and region’s priorities.”

New Generation Program Alumni