By Zakaria Soohoyde - Reporter
MOGADISHU More than 100 young people gathered in Somalia’s capital on Wednesday for the Local Conference of Youth (LCOY) Somalia, a youth-led climate forum aimed at discussing the country’s climate priorities and preparing recommendations ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference, COP31, to be held in Türkiye in November.
The conference brought together young people to discuss the effects of climate change in Somalia, including drought, floods, food insecurity and displacement, as well as possible solutions and the role young people can play in climate action.
Participants are also working to develop recommendations and messages that can feed into Somalia’s engagement with the wider global climate process leading to COP31.
Officials and participants at the conference highlighted the disproportionate impact of climate change on children and young people in Somalia, a country that contributes only a small share of global greenhouse-gas emissions but faces severe climate-related impacts.
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LCOYs are youth climate conferences organised under the YOUNGO framework, the official youth constituency of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). They provide young people with a platform to discuss national climate priorities, develop policy recommendations and contribute to the international climate process ahead of COP.
LCOY Somalia was first held in 2024 and continued in 2025, bringing together young people from across the country for climate dialogue, youth-led solutions and policy engagement.
The 2025 edition produced the Somalia National Youth Climate Statement, contributing to wider youth engagement through YOUNGO and the COP process.
The 2026 edition, the third LCOY Somalia, is being organised by PUSAN, Green Media Initiative (GMI) and APCRD, three youth-led organisations based in Somalia.