A Rapid Literature Review of Climate Financing for Youths in Sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), despite contributing the least to global climate change, faces the greatest vulnerability to its effects. Climate finance plays a crucial role in supporting mitigation and adaptation measures, helping communities reduce emissions and enhance resilience. However, without deliberate inclusion, young people (often defined as those aged 15–24 or up to 35 years old) struggle to access the resources needed for their climate initiatives. This study presents a rapid literature review examining the current landscape of climate finance directly accessible to youth in SSA. Employing a rapid search using keywords across academic databases and institutional repositories, the result of 758 papers, necessitated a heavier reliance on institutional reports rather than academic papers due to limited youth-specific climate finance data across academic databases. The review identifies significant gaps in youth-targeted climate finance, characterized by limited age-disaggregated data, a disproportionate focus on mitigation over adaptation, and complex funding mechanisms that exclude grassroots initiatives. Despite youths being critical agents for climate action and disproportionately affected by climate impacts in SSA, financing mechanisms remain fragmented and insufficient. The paper highlights emerging opportunities through blended finance models, enhanced grant access, and private sector engagement, while emphasizing the urgent need for standardized metrics and transparent disbursement mechanisms. Recommendations include a multi-stakeholder approach to prioritize youth representation, streamline funding processes, and ensure equitable distribution of climate finance, advocating for a more direct, inclusive and effective integration of youth in climate finance frameworks.