If you had 5 minutes with a policymaker, how would you explain where your initiative fits into national or global climate priorities?
Focus on clarity, not jargon. What problem does your work help address, and how does it support policy goals in practice?
For our case:
Our initiative helps Tunisia turn its climate commitments into real, measurable results.
Note that Tunisia has pledged to reduce carbon intensity by 45% by 2030 and reach 30% renewable electricity.
At ASCRI, our program (YACPEP) is designed to produce climate entrepreneurs that will implement Nigeria's commitment to reduce emissions by 32% by 2035, and cut deforestation by 60%, by planting 20 million trees annually, and scale up recycling.
Наша программа экополиции, направленная на защиту природы, разделяет политику и экологию. Политика не должна вмешиваться в природу. Цель — достичь уважения, любви и посвящения.
The 5-Minute Pitch: Bridging the Gap from Forest to Pharmacy
1. The Problem: "Invisible Wealth, Visible Poverty"
"Honorable Policymaker, Africa has a goldmine in its forests,medicinal plants like Lemongrass and Holy Basil. Yet, we lose billions because we export raw materials and import finished medicines. Our youth are unemployed, and our forests are being cleared for charcoal because they aren't 'profitable' enough. This is a climate and economic crisis."
2. The Solution: "Vuasuti – The Bio-Digital Bridge"
"My initiative, Vuasuti, turns these forest plants into high-value natural products right here at home. But we don't just 'farm'; we use technology to track growth and protect our scientific formulas (Intellectual Property). We are proving that a standing forest is worth more than a cleared one. We turn conservation into a business that puts money in a young farmer's pocket
3. National & Global Fit: "The Triple Win" (Dakika 2)
"My work fits directly into three major policy goals:
Climate Resilience (Green Economy): We promote agroforestry, which captures carbon and restores soil, meeting our National Environmental Goals.
Industrialization: We are building a local value chain for 'Agro-Health' products, reducing our reliance on imports and supporting Industrial Policy.
Youth Empowerment: We are moving the youth from 'subsistence farming' to 'science-led entrepreneurship,' addressing the Employment Policy directly.
The Ask:
I am not asking for a handout; I am asking for Policy Support. We need frameworks that recognize 'Bio-Digital' innovation and protect the IP of young African scientists so we can scale this from a local lab at MUHAS to a global market.
Thanks
Hansbert james
@Hansbert James This is a compelling and strategic pitch. What stands out most is how Vuasuti transforms conservation into economic opportunity while connecting climate resilience, industrial growth, and youth empowerment in one model. The idea that a standing forest can generate more value than a cleared one is both powerful and practical. I also appreciate your focus on intellectual property protection and local value creation, because innovation needs systems that allow communities and young scientists to benefit fairly. This has strong potential as a scalable model for sustainable development.
Our work fits into national climate priorities by solving the execution gap.
Countries already have climate commitments, but in practice, many solutions don’t last beyond short-term projects. Communities remain vulnerable because there is no local capacity to sustain them.
We address that by training young people and communities to design, implement, and maintain climate solutions on their own. This directly supports policy goals on adaptation and resilience, because it turns communities into implementers of the NDC, not just recipients.
In practice, this means climate actions continue operating after funding ends, strengthening local systems like water management, ecosystems, and resilient livelihoods.
This is a strong and well grounded perspective. What stands out is your focus on the execution gap, because climate progress often depends less on new commitments and more on whether communities have the capacity to carry solutions forward. Training young people and local communities to design, implement, and maintain climate action makes the work far more sustainable and practical. I also appreciate your point that this moves communities from being passive recipients to active implementers of national climate priorities. That shift gives the project real long term value.
If I had to explain this to a policymaker, I would keep it simple.
I grew up in Chattogram, Bangladesh, in an area where waterlogging is a regular problem. Climate change is not something distant for us. It is part of daily life. Flooded roads, disrupted education, and unsafe conditions are common for young people and girls.
My work focuses on connecting these real experiences with climate action. Through youth workshops and community engagement, we help young people understand climate issues and take small but practical actions in their own communities.
This connects with national and global goals on climate adaptation and resilience. In many cases, policies exist, but local understanding and participation are still limited.
In practice, this means turning awareness into action and making sure young people are not just affected by climate policies, but are also part of the solution.
@Mohammad Jobayer Bin Hossain Sumon This is a clear and grounded explanation. What makes it especially strong is that it begins with lived experience, which gives the climate issue both urgency and credibility. I also appreciate how you connect youth engagement with adaptation and resilience in a practical way. Your point about policies existing without enough local participation is very important, because real progress depends on people understanding the issue and being equipped to act. This is a meaningful approach that puts young people at the center of climate solutions.
Our Association for Climate Resilience and Environmental Protection (ACREP) have mission , To strengthen community resilience to climate change while promoting sustainable environmental protection...
Ghana's buildings account for a significant share of national energy consumption yet most are designed without any measurement of their actual performance. Developers build, occupants pay the energy bills, and no one closes the loop. That gap is what my initiative addresses.
The Ghana Green Building Performance Initiative builds local technical capacity to assess, certify, and improve building energy performance using frameworks already aligned with international standards specifically the EDGE certification system, which is recognised by the IFC and the World Bank Group.
At the policy level, this directly supports Ghana's NDC commitments under the Paris Agreement, which include reducing energy consumption in buildings as part of the country's climate action targets. It also supports the goals of the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction which has identified Sub-Saharan Africa's rapidly urbanising building stock as one of the highest-priority intervention points globally.
What makes this actionable rather than theoretical is that it works through people: architects, developers, and local governments, changing how decisions are made on the ground, before concrete is poured and after. Behavioural change plays a major significant role in this initiative during and after design stage.
Five minutes with you is not enough to decarbonise Ghana's built environment. But it is enough to ask one question: does your ministry's climate action plan include a measurable target for building energy performance? If not, that is the gap my work is designed to fill.
This is a sharp and policy relevant framing. What stands out most is how clearly you identify the performance gap between building design and actual energy use. I also appreciate that your initiative is not only about standards, but about building the local technical capacity needed to make those standards meaningful in practice. Linking architects, developers, and local governments makes the approach much more actionable. Your closing question is especially strong because it moves the conversation from ambition to measurable accountability.
I had five minutes with a policymaker, I would explain that Educlima helps turn climate policies into action through education and community engagement. We focus on helping young people and communities understand climate change, its local impact, and the practical solutions they can be part of.
Our initiative supports national and global climate priorities by building climate awareness, encouraging youth-led action, and promoting sustainable practices at the grassroots level. In simple terms, Educlima helps connect big climate goals with everyday action in schools, communities, and urban spaces.
This matters because climate policy becomes stronger when people understand it, own it, and are actively involved in making change happen
This is clear and well framed. What makes Educlima strong is that it addresses one of the biggest gaps in climate action, translating policy into understanding and participation at community level. I appreciate how you position education and youth engagement as practical tools for implementation, not just awareness. Your final point is especially important because climate policy becomes far more effective when people understand it, take ownership of it, and help drive change in their own environments.
Thank you Laura for the feedback, I appreciate 🙏
Agriculture is both highly vulnerable to climate change and a major contributor to emissions. Farmers rely on expensive, unsustainable feeds like fishmeal and soy so we provide an integrated, climate-smart farming system that uses alternative feeds. In simple terms, we turn waste into feed, feed into food, and food into income thus creating a circular, low-emission system. This initiative directly contributes to key national and global priorities like climate mitigation,adaptation,food security and youth employment.
My initiative to fight against clearing vegetation to put up houses.
If I get the opportunity to discuss with policymakers, I would propose to them to set rules criminalizing vegetation degradation. Instead of allowing people clear large areas of vegetation for building houses , the government should rather build affordable houses to accommodate citizens. This will protect the vegetation and increase food security as well as provide subsidies to citizens to own a house .
My initiative can be framed as a climate‑smart innovation that directly supports both national and global priorities: it reduces greenhouse gas emissions by diverting plastic waste from burning and landfills, empowers waste collectors through micro‑incentives, and fosters responsible disposal among households and businesses. At the national level, it complements Ghana’s waste management and circular economy strategies, while globally it advances the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 14 (Life Below Water). In essence, my mobile app transforms plastic waste into opportunity, aligning digital innovation with climate action, job creation, and environmental stewardship.
If I had 5 minutes with a policymaker, this is how I would explain our mission:
"Honorable Minister, Kigoma region is currently trapped in a cycle of 'Invisible Wealth and Visible Poverty.' While indigenous families own land, they lack the technical exposure to manage it sustainably, falling back on 'slash-and-burn' practices that destroy our watersheds. This ecological collapse, combined with a 150,000-tonne regional fish deficit, means we are losing our forests and our nutritional security at the same time. My initiative addresses this by establishing Youth & Women Inclusion Hubs (CBOs) decentralized centers that transform marginalized landowners into organized climate entrepreneurs.
Our solution is a Circular Economy loop that turns waste into wealth. These community-led CBOs manage climate-smart aquaculture ponds where nutrient-rich water is recycled as high-grade organic fertilizer to restore exhausted soils and fuel agroforestry. By using a credit-and-repay model, we remove the need for bank collateral, allowing resource-poor but literate youth to lead the management of these hubs. We aren't just farming; we are building a professionalized governance structure that replaces destructive habits with a restorative, data-driven business model.
This project is the operational engine for Tanzania’s Food Systems Pathways 2030 and our National NDC goals. We are proving that community-led organizations can hit carbon reduction targets while simultaneously solving local protein shortages. I am asking for policy support to integrate these Inclusion Hubs into regional development plans. Let’s move our youth from the sidelines of the climate crisis to the center of a self-sustaining, green economy that protects our land and feeds our nation. Thank you"
This is a very thoughtful question. Grassroots initiatives like community awareness, sustainable practices, and local ecosystem restoration can play a big role in turning climate policies into real impact on the ground.
If I had five minutes with the policymaker, I would first describe the nature of my initiative as one that seeks to bridge the gap between lofty climate targets and tangible actions on the ground. Despite the high-level climate agendas that include emission reductions, resilience enhancement, and sustainable development, there remains a disconnect in terms of implementing these policies in everyday life. The solution that my initiative aims to provide lies in its focus on educating local communities, especially youth, about sustainable practices and providing them with the necessary tools to incorporate these into their lifestyles. This problem cannot be solely attributed to a lack of information, as much of it already exists. However, the problem is that there are no accessible channels for individual contribution towards solving climate issues. My initiative helps implement climate policy objectives in that it provides an avenue to promote learning and behavior changes within the framework of the country climate plan and international agreements, such as the Paris Agreement.
At Kagezi Seeds, we develop and distribute climate-smart seeds, and train farmers in CSA techniques which cushions smallholder farmers from crop loss due to droughts. This is in line with the National Agriculture Policy that champions empowering smallholder farmers with climate resilient agricultural inputs as they are most vulnerable to climate change
If I had just five minutes, I’d keep it simple and direct:
Our initiative tackles a very practical gap between climate policy and everyday reality. Governments set ambitious goals—like reducing emissions, building resilient communities, and creating green jobs—but those goals often don’t reach people at the grassroots level in a meaningful way. That’s where our work fits in.
We focus on using community-based action—especially through youth engagement and local programs—to turn climate priorities into real, visible impact. For example, through sport, education, and community activities, we promote environmental awareness, mental resilience, and social inclusion. This helps communities adapt to climate stress while also reducing behaviors that harm the environment.
In terms of policy alignment, our work directly supports:
Climate action (SDG 13): by raising awareness and encouraging sustainable practices at the local level.
Sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11): by strengthening community cohesion and resilience.
Industry, innovation, and infrastructure (SDG 9): by promoting inclusive, people-centered approaches to development.
What makes our approach effective is that we don’t just talk about climate—we connect it to people’s daily lives. When young people are engaged through familiar platforms like sport or community groups, they are more likely to adopt and sustain climate-friendly behaviors.
In practice, this means policy doesn’t stay on paper. It becomes something communities understand, participate in, and own.
So, in short: we help translate climate policy into grassroots action, ensuring no one is left behind—and that’s essential for any climate strategy to truly succeed.
My initiative uses agrivoltaics; combining solar energy and agriculture; to tackle two key challenges: climate impacts on food production and limited energy access in rural communities.
Smallholder farmers, especially young women, are facing lower yields due to climate change, while also lacking reliable energy. This project helps them grow food more resiliently while generating clean energy for use or income.
It directly supports priorities under the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals by advancing climate adaptation, renewable energy access, and inclusive development.
What’s needed is simple: support for community-based renewable solutions, access to financing, and stronger inclusion of youth and women in climate policy.
This is a strong and timely focus. I appreciate how your initiative is centered on turning national climate commitments into measurable action rather than leaving them as policy targets alone. Supporting progress toward reduced carbon intensity and expanded renewable electricity shows clear alignment with real national priorities. The emphasis on accountability and implementation gives this project strong potential for meaningful impact.