Why Climate Ventures are everyone's business
Climate adaptation and resilience matters for this and coming generations.
Climate change is not one challenge among many. For children, it is the context in which their lives unfold, shaping health, education, protection, and opportunity. But while the risks are real, so too are the solutions. Across the world, innovators are helping communities adapt and thrive, turning today’s challenges into opportunities to build stronger, more resilient systems.
UNICEF’s Children’s Climate Risk Index highlights that one billion children live in extremely high-risk countries, and more than 850 million face four or more overlapping climate and environmental hazards. Yet these numbers also underscore where investments in resilience can make the greatest difference. Through Climate Ventures, a new initiative within the Venture Fund, UNICEF will identify and invest in early- and growth-stage startups building solutions that protect children, strengthen essential systems, and create resilient communities. Over the next five years, the initiative will back at least 60 ventures with capital, mentorship, and technical support to scale what works.
Turning risks into resilience
Children are uniquely affected by climate change. Their bodies and minds are still developing, and they depend on the systems and caregivers around them. But that very dependence is also what makes investments in climate-resilient services so powerful: when schools, clinics, and communities adapt, children are the first to benefit. Solutions exist worldwide, but more investment is needed to bring them to scale.
Climate change is also opening a US$6.2 trillion annual investment opportunity by 2030, with ESG assets projected to surpass US$40 trillion in the same period. Directing even a fraction of this capital toward climate ventures can help close the US$200 billion annual adaptation gap and ensure proven solutions reach the children and communities who need them most.
With support from UNICEF, climate ventures are developing practical solutions that directly strengthen resilience. In Timor-Leste, Similie created hyperlocal early warning systems that provide affordable, easy-to-use climate intelligence for communities. In India, Equinoct has expanded flood forecasting tools to monitor tidal surges and reduce human–wildlife conflict, while training youth volunteers to integrate the data into local planning. These examples show how technology and investment, paired with community leadership, are helping children and families prepare, adapt, and build confidence in the face of change.
Protecting systems children rely on
Resilience is measured by whether essential systems keep working when shocks occur. Every year, nearly 40 million children have their education disrupted by natural hazards or disease outbreaks. In sub-Saharan Africa, one in four health facilities operates without electricity, and another 28 per cent face frequent outages. The pressures are real, but they are also surmountable.
Through climate solutions supported by UNICEF, innovators are already working to fortify these systems. In Cameroon, Map & Rank is embedding climate risk data into national planning workflows so that governments can better anticipate and respond to threats. In Trinidad and Tobago, Zed Labs has created a blockchain-based community currency that rewards young people for climate-positive actions and channels those rewards into local environmental initiatives. By strengthening the very systems children depend on, these startups are not only addressing today’s disruptions but laying the groundwork for stronger services in the future. Climate Ventures will expand this.
A dual-track approach to climate resilience
Climate resilience is not a stand-alone “green” programme; it is integrated into every sector where UNICEF works. A school that runs on renewable energy can keep children connected to learning tools during storms. A clinic powered by solar microgrids can maintain vaccine cold chains during heatwaves. And these same facilities can adopt the frontier technologies that depend on stable power and connectivity, from digital health tools to AI-enabled early warning systems.
That is why UNICEF Climate Ventures follows a dual-track approach: pairing scale-ready innovations with frontier technologies. For example, in the Philippines, Thinking Machines is developing advanced data science tools to anticipate hazards before they strike. In Thailand, AirGradient is designing low-cost environmental sensors to make air quality monitoring accessible to communities everywhere. Thinking Machines’ cutting-edge data science complements AirGradient’s scale-ready sensors and is already improving children’s daily lives. Together, these approaches show how Climate Ventures will build resilience today while laying the foundation for stronger systems that can adapt to tomorrow’s challenges.
Building momentum for the future
The climate crisis is the context within which every other challenge must be addressed. But it is also an opportunity to reimagine systems, so they serve children better, withstand shocks, and adapt to future needs. Protecting children means acting across sectors and timelines, meeting urgent needs today while building stronger infrastructure for tomorrow.
UNICEF Climate Ventures demonstrates that child-focused solutions can be designed for scale, rooted in local realities, and connected to global expertise. From solar-powered health systems to youth-led early warning tools, we already know what works. What’s needed now is investment and collective action to take these solutions further, faster.
Through catalytic partnerships, we can ensure every child grows up healthy, learning, and thriving in a changing world.
