The world is getting hotter. Inequalities are deepening. Yet across Africa and beyond, young people are turning the vulnerabilities of systems under pressure into spaces for action and possibility. In the climate debate, young people are often portrayed as those sounding the alarm: marching, speaking out and calling for action. Much less often are they shown as people who are designing and implementing concrete solutions on the ground. 

Yet this is exactly what many of them are already doing. 

In Liberia, one of these young people is Elvis Thomas, co-founder of Emergi Liberia, a youth-led initiative operating at the intersection of clean mobility, entrepreneurship and inclusion. His story shows what can happen when a young innovator identifies a real need, understands the local reality and the context in which he operates, and decides to build a better solution. 

In Monrovia, traffic fumes are part of everyday life. Getting around the city can be expensive, unreliable, polluting and, for many women, unsafe. Transport is a question of mobility, but also of public health, environmental sustainability, economic opportunity and urban dignity. In a country where petrol-powered vehicles still dominate the roads, the environmental and social costs are high. 

Elvis and his team set out to propose a different model. Through Emergi Liberia, they are piloting the country’s first fleet of electric tuk-tuks, creating a cleaner and safer urban transport alternative while also opening up new economic opportunities for women. The vehicles reduce CO₂ emissions by 95 per cent and cut operating costs by more than 70 per cent compared with conventional vehicles. But the project goes far beyond cleaner technology. 

At the heart of the model are women. So far, 30 women have been trained as drivers through a programme covering road safety, vehicle safety, gender issues, personal financial management, health and emergency response. On average, Emergi drivers earn around three times more than women working in the informal transport sector. Each driver also has access to properly maintained vehicles, renewable-energy charging infrastructure and a dedicated social fund, providing an additional safety net. A digital ride-hailing app has also been launched, helping connect drivers and customers through a more modern and reliable service. 

The project demonstrates that sustainable mobility cannot be reduced to the vehicle alone. It depends on people, infrastructure, policies, safety and trust. 

“We are not just changing how people move. We are changing who drives development,” says Elvis. “This project is about trust. Trust that young people can lead change, and trust that clean solutions can work here too.” 

That trust has proved to be a catalyst. What began with four electric vehicles funded through the project has already expanded into a fleet of 15 electric vehicles operating in 2025. In 2025 alone, these vehicles helped avoid approximately 2.7 tonnes of CO₂ emissions. The initiative has also mobilised additional funding and gained international recognition through EBL Global Finals, the EU–Liberia partnership and France. 

This is what timely and well-targeted support can make possible. A project with a strong proof of concept can begin to move beyond the pilot phase and develop into something larger: a model with the potential to influence broader systems. Emergi Liberia is now preparing for its next phase, with plans to expand across Liberia and Sierra Leone, while also strengthening its solar infrastructure and energy-storage systems. The project is also moving into the public-policy sphere. Elvis and his team have contributed to discussions on smart urban mobility plans and the development of policies for zero-emission vehicles. In other words, what began as a local intervention for cleaner transport is also starting to contribute to shaping the policy environment that could allow this type of solution to grow. 

This matters because youth-led climate action is often underestimated not because it lacks relevance, but because it lacks recognition. Too many young innovators are seen as promising, but not yet credible; passionate, but not yet ready. Yet time and again, their work proves otherwise. 

Elvis’s story is powerful precisely because it is not the story of an untouchable “climate hero”. It is the story of a young person responding to a real need in his community and building a concrete, scalable solution that is deeply rooted in local realities. It also reflects the understanding that, for climate action to endure, it must be connected to livelihoods, inclusion, safety and opportunity.

That is why stories like this matter. They help shift the narrative around young people from one focused only on urgency to one that also recognises their capacity to act. They remind us that young people are not simply asking others to intervene. They are already doing the work of implementation. And across Africa, this reality is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. Young people are rethinking systems from the ground up, often in contexts where infrastructure is fragile, public support is limited and the effects of climate change are already highly visible. Their work should not be seen as something exceptional, but as part of a much broader movement of local leadership and innovation across the continent. Elvis is one of many young people in Africa and around the world leading bold and innovative climate solutions. 

Youth4Climate, a global initiative co-led by UNDP and the Government of Italy, exists precisely to support them through direct funding, capacity development and visibility, helping promising ideas turn into real-world impact. 

His story, together with many others from Africa and other regions, can be seen in our latest documentary, Generation Trust: https://www.undp.org/romecentre/generation-trust-global-climate-story-making?utm_source=chatgpt.com 

This article was originally published in Italian in the magazine Africa e Affari.