NRGI at LCOY Mexico: Elevating Youth Voices From Oil-Dependent Regions for a Just Transition
What does the energy transition mean for young people living in Mexico's oil heartland? This question was a central theme of discussion at the 2025 Local Conference of the Youth (LCOY) Mexico 2025.
This national forum, which brought together over 300 young people from 29 states, served as a platform to hear the testimonies of youth from Campeche, Veracruz and Tabasco. As a co-organizer of the event held at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) ensured that these perspectives were heard and integrated into action proposals toward energy transformation.
In a workshop facilitated by NRGI, these young people shared their realities and visions firsthand. They spoke about the challenges of imagining a future beyond hydrocarbons, but also about the opportunity to become agents of a just and inclusive change. Their testimonies went beyond local dialogue and were formally integrated into the National Youth Climate Statement.
That document, which includes 64 concrete proposals on energy transition, emerged from the LCOY discussions organized under the framework of YOUNGO (the official children and youth constituency of the UNFCCC). It will feed into global discussion through the Global Youth Statement leading up to COP30. The narrative it advances is not only about phasing out fossil fuels; but about how to do it justly, integrating the voices of those who live in Mexico's most oil-dependent communities.
Why the voices of youth from oil-dependent regions matter
To avoid climate catastrophe, the world must transition to clean energy and progressively abandon fossil fuels. However, this transition will only be just if it includes communities historically dependent on oil and guarantees sustainable alternatives for their economies, jobs, and energy security.
In this context, Brenda Rodríguez Orea and Julián Martínez (NRGI) co-led the Just Transitions working group at LCOY. They facilitated a workshop analyzing how Mexico’s oil legacy shapes the current and future challenges of producing regions, placing youth voices from these territories at the center.
Stories and challenges
With the participation of 33 young people from diverse geographic and social backgrounds, the workshop focused on key questions for the youth from Campeche, Tabasco and Veracruz. The discussion revolved around three key questions:
- How has the oil industry been present in your lives?
- Which aspects of the energy sector need more visibility because of their impact on communities?
- What topics should be central to the national debates on the energy transition?
Three main outcomes from the workshop:
- Empathetic connection and collective awareness. Youth from across the country understood the motivations, economic impact, and socio-environmental risks faced by their peers in oil regions, delving into the factors that influence their professional decisions, personal lives, and visions for territorial development.
- Strengthening advocacy capacity. For youth from Campeche, Veracruz, and Tabasco, participating in this type of national event was an opportunity to connect, learn and collaborate. LCOY allowed them to discover new visions, build alliances to influence the climate agenda, and recognize the importance of their direct involvement in these discussions.
- Identification of common and regional challenges. By contrasting realities across states and communities, participants enriched their perspectives on issues such as the differentiated impacts of power generation, barriers to energy access, pollution, and the need for transitions that reduce coastal vulnerability.
“It is necessary to decentralize the discussion on the energy transition; we must bring the voices of the youth from the Gulf of Mexico to the table, understand their concerns, the complexities of their economies, what they want to change, and what mistakes should not be repeated on the path to other energy sources.” — Brenda Rodríguez Orea, NRGI Program Associate for Mexico.
From ideas to action: proposals for COP30
The discussions facilitated by NRGI led to 64 concrete proposals on energy transition, including on a dedicated section on oil-producing regions. These recommendations addressed education, employment, environmental restoration, and social security in the context of the transition.
All these recommendations were integrated into the National Youth Climate Statement, which was submitted for consideration in the Global Youth Statement leading up to COP30.
Highlights included
- Transforming academic programs in oil-producing states toward areas like marine biology, renewable energy, tourism, social sciences, innovation and technology, recognizing the potential of alternative sectors for youth employment.
- Fostering interdisciplinary collaboration in universities (e.g., between law and engineering) to design plans for responsible phase-out and socio-environmental restoration.
- Investing in alternative economic activities aligned with territorial and cultural capabilities, such as ecotourism, agroecology, sustainable fishing, waste management, and ecological restoration.
- Providing free training and financial support to workers transitioning from the oil industry to other sectors.
- Restoring ecosystems from a comprehensive vision that considers both biotic and abiotic components.
- Requiring companies to finance the repair of damages caused by their activities and guarantee the responsible closure of their infrastructure.
“A just energy transition must guarantee tangible and equitable benefits, as well as adequate compensation for everyone involved.” — Julián Martínez, NRGI Consultant for Mexico.
Next Steps
NRGI will soon publish the testimonies of the youth who participated in the workshop.
We will also seek to promote the proposals from youth in oil-producing regions at the Global Conference of Children and Youth on Climate Change (COY20), which will be held in November ahead of COP30 in Brazil.
Authors
Brenda Rodríguez
Mexico Program Associate
