Before the World Economic Forum met in Davos in January, young changemakers in the group’s Global Shaper network named the issues they would tackle
Ensure fair energy transitions
BY CARLA GÓMEZ BRIONES
ACHIEVING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE CLEARLY requires a global shift from fossil fuels to renewable- and clean-energy systems that will allow the world to reach net zero by 2050. This transition involves much more than technology investments toward a carbon-neutral society and a fertile policy space. It represents a complex transformation with profound social, cultural, and economic implications. These will be especially pronounced in developing countries that have yet to achieve energy security and are highly dependent on fossil fuels.
This may involve difficult trade-offs. Local communities naturally prioritize growth. With limited means, leaders may opt for decisions that don’t prioritize sustainability, at least not in the short run. As developing nations go through a turbulent process, it’s vital to prioritize a just energy transition that allows them to balance development and climate goals. With fragile political systems and limited fiscal capacity, there is a risk that entire communities could be stranded.
Investing in people’s skills, putting gender equality at the forefront, and prioritizing energy security are the vital underlying conditions for enabling a just transition where everyone can thrive.
Gómez Briones is a power and climate summer associate at the Rockefeller Foundation
Support innovators
BY PRATIK KUNWAR
Citizens around the world are more eager than ever to choose who represents them and where their taxes are spent, and to hold their leaders accountable. This requires tackling distrust, disengagement, and disparity.
In the Global South, youth-led civic technology is a promising solution. For example, in Nepal, the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation’s (CEI) app Shaasan enables citizens to freely report civic-justice issues andj rate elected officials on their performance. It increases civic participation and engagement by eliminating the traditional barriers to dialogue between citizens and their governments. Locally designed, people-centered solu-c tions like these are scalable and well equipped to handle 21st century dynamics, whether ini Kyiv or Kathmandu.
What is lacking is visibility, support, and funding for innovations like these, for young innovators and entrepreneurs from the Global South who work under very restrictive frameworks in resource-constrainedc environments and who have been historically underrepresented in decis
