YuWaah (Generation Unlimited in India) at UNICEF and Partners Unveil the 'Green Rising India Alliance' (GRIA): A Landmark Public-Private Initiative Announced Amidst COP28 to Spearhead Sustai

New Delhi : UNICEF and its global partnerships platform Generation Unlimited (also known as YuWaah in India) have partnered with key organizations committed to working towards a green future for children and young people as a part of the Green Rising India Alliance (GRIA). The alliance consists of YuWaah at UNICEF, Capgemini, Children's Investment Fund Foundation, Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies, ReNew Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation and SAP. The GRIA aims to equip 50 million children and young people to become climate-conscious, adaptable, and resilient by 2030. This is part of the global ‘Green Rising’ campaign that supports youth-led climate action which was launched at RewireED on 8th December hosted by the COP28 Presidency at the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference in UAE.

This coalition is galvanizing private organizations, foundations, youth networks, multilaterals, and the Government of India to unify their commitment to sharing knowledge, efforts, and innovative solutions. The primary goal is to equip young people with the requisite opportunities not only to embrace a climate-conscious mindset but also to foster resilience, thereby enabling them to fully realize their potential. This alliance will further synergize investments, strategic priorities, and portfolios of work to unlock unprecedented opportunities to complement national efforts with the government and young people.

India has made significant strides through the National Action Plan on Climate Change and the establishment of the National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change to support concrete adaptation activities to address climate change vulnerabilities. Schemes like the National Green Mission with its focus on afforestation, reforestation, and increasing green cover and the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan with its focus on improving waste management practices and sanitation, reducing environmental pollution are exemplary of India’s leadership on the climate agenda.

Based on the Mission Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) introduced by Prime Minister Modi at COP26, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change along with YuWaah and UNICEF created the Meri LiFE platform. More than 25 million pro-planet actions were reported through the Meri LiFE platform towards environmental conservation and adoption of LiFE behaviours.

The GRIA will enable, empower and engage young people, especially the most vulnerable, with the tools they need to become stewards of our planet through green skills, social impact, and economic opportunities and further partner with youth to co-design and scale transformative environmental initiatives.

As a public-private-youth partnerships platform at UNICEF, YuWaah led by Dhuwarakha Sriram will work towards unifying diverse climate initiatives under GRIA, a powerful platform in India to usher in a new era of sustainable development and environmental protection for and with young people.

Cynthia McCaffrey, UNICEF Representative to India and Co-chair, YuWaah Board said, "UNICEF works with the Government and partners towards the common goal of ensuring that children and young people live in a safe and clean environment and have the education and skills they will need to adapt and create a green transition and a better world. UNICEF has been working with children and young people as prominent stakeholders to ensure that policies on climate, environment, energy and disaster risk reduction integrate their views, concerns and solutions. With YuWaah’s public-private-youth partnerships for GRIA, we want to further enable youth to co-create climate action and become changemakers for environmental protection.”

Ashwin Yardi, CEO of Capgemini in India said, “At Capgemini, in our commitment to developing net-zero solutions by 2030, we emphasize the central role of youth and firmly believe that young people are instrumental in guiding us toward a climate-resilient future.The global partnership between UNICEF and Capgemini is dedicated to driving the Green Rising initiative, which focuses on addressing climate change through youth-centered solutions in collaboration with Generation Unlimited. As YuWaah at UNICEF leads the Green Rising India Alliance, Capgemini joins key partners to collaborate in empowering young people and fostering a long-term commitment to sustainability through the strength of strategic partnerships.”

Manjula Singh, Executive Director-India, Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), “Congratulations the Government of India for its outstanding leadership in climate initiatives and commitment to 1.5°C while substantially reducing greenhouse gas emissions. With the launch of the Green Rising India Alliance (GRIA), it is exciting to see Governments, private organizations, foundations, youth networks, and multilateral, coming together to build a climate safe future- characterised by cleaner air, energy security, and sustainable jobs- along with smart stewardship of the planet’s resources. CIFF remains steadfast in its commitment to creating a world in which every child can flourish in a healthy, fair, and safe environment."