30 November 2025
A letter from the co-chairs
As co-chairs of the U20+ Evergreen Challenge initiative, we are honored to launch this program at a pivotal moment, as cities, young people, technology, finance and governance come together to shape a decisive decade for humanity. The world is undergoing profound transformation across ecological, industrial, digital and geopolitical dimensions. These shifts are happening at once and at speed. They test the resilience of our institutions and open unprecedented opportunities for renewal. In this context, youth leadership is not optional. It is essential.
The U20+ Global Challenge Initiative was created to move beyond declarations and develop a generation of young people who can deliver solutions. It puts young leaders at the center of global problem-solving, with action grounded in science, enabled by technology, validated by credible governance and powered by financial innovation. Each Evergreen Challenge represents a frontier where the next generation’s leadership will be decisive: climate governance, biodiversity conservation, digital climate services, the circular-economy transition, urban resilience and high-integrity net-zero systems.
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The program carries three commitments.
01Integrity and credibility
Every challenge is grounded in the best available science and aligned with global frameworks: the Paris Agreement, the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, the Sustainable Development Goals, the ISSB, TCFD and TNFD standards, the expectations of the Global Stocktake, and the principles of a just transition as they evolve from COP30 onward. Our aim is that every challenge participants take on is globally relevant and can be delivered locally.
02Professionalism and accountability
The solutions and innovations participants propose are assessed against clear, transparent, world-class standards. These draw on global best practice in mission-oriented innovation and challenge-prize governance (such as the XPRIZE Foundation, Mission Innovation and Horizon Europe), infrastructure and finance integrity frameworks (such as FAST-Infra, climate bond standards and global financial-market climate initiatives), and open-science principles that keep data credible and comparable.
03Lifelong capacity building
Evergreen Challenge results feed into the Climate Passport, a next-generation platform designed to recognize young people’s skills, track their development, verify their expertise and enable global collaboration. By linking challenge results to the Climate Passport, we help every participant build a personal, portable and verifiable record of climate and nature leadership that reaches well beyond this program.
As the world approaches the critical milestones of 2030 and 2035, the window for action is narrowing. Yet the demand for solutions built on young people’s imagination, scientific integrity and bold experimentation keeps growing. This initiative is our response. To every participant: you are not only tackling global challenges. You are shaping our shared future.
On behalf of the U20+ Secretariat, our global partners and the Global Climate Academy, we invite you to open this Challenge Handbook with courage, curiosity and a commitment to excellence. Let it give you direction, spark your thinking and equip you to become the leaders the world urgently needs.
Together, we can turn every global challenge into a global breakthrough.