International Youth Day: Caribbean youth representative named to UN Secretary-General’s youth advisory panel on Climate Change

Ashley Lashley, a CARICOM Youth Ambassador from Barbados, has been selected as one of 14 young climate leaders appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General to serve on his Third Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change. This new cohort of the Advisory Group was unveiled today, in observance of International Youth Day, which in 2025 emphasizes “Local Youth Actions for the SDGs and Beyond,” said a press statement from the UN.

It also shared that the group features youth advocates from various parts of the world, including two representatives from Latin America and one from the Caribbean in this edition. Members of the Advisory Group reportedly come from diverse backgrounds, embodying different identities, experiences, perspectives, and areas of expertise within their respective nations, communities, and networks.

Their role is to provide “the Secretary-General with practical and outcome-focused advice, diverse youth perspectives and concrete recommendations to advance achievement of his climate priorities.”

At the launch of this latest cohort, the Secretary-General highlighted the importance of young people’s “fearless advocacy” as a driving force in combating the climate emergency.

“This is why I am proud to announce the launch of the third cohort of my Youth Advisory Group on Climate – and to expand its membership from 7 to 14,” he stated. “That means more space for young voices at the table, more space for youth leadership and more space to shape climate action. To young people everywhere, don’t give up.”

For Lashley, who represents the Caribbean youth voice on the Advisory Group, serving in this capacity signifies“ [carrying] the Caribbean’s cry for climate justice and to hold the world accountable for the debt it owes to SIDS.”

She is also the founder of The Ashley Lashley Foundation and the SIDS Global Children and Youth Action Summit.