Design a solution that helps communities prepare for and respond to climate-related challenges—such as flooding, heatwaves, or power outages.
Innovating for Climate-Ready Communities
This challenge supports SDG 13: Climate Action by encouraging youth-led innovation that helps communities become more resilient to climate-related disruptions through accessible and adaptable technology solutions.
From intensifying heatwaves to rising floodwaters and sudden power outages, climate change is reshaping life across the globe. But while the crisis is global, its effects are deeply local. Communities everywhere, especially those with fewer resources, need creative solutions to prepare for and respond to these new challenges.
Climate change is already affecting where people live, how they work, and their access to basics like food, water, and electricity. And the hardest-hit communities often have the fewest tools to bounce back. By building smart, creative, and local solutions, young innovators like you can help reduce harm and build a more climate-resilient future.
Whether you focus on preparation, early warnings, or disaster recovery, your idea has the power to save lives and protect communities.
| Research the community needs | What’s happening around you? Think about the weather events your family or community has dealt with in the past few years.
Who struggled the most? Look up what experts say, but don’t forget your own experience matters, too. |
| Brainstorm ideas | This is your time to think big. What would make life easier before, during, or after a climate event? Set a timer and jot down as many ideas as you can, even the wild or weird ones. |
| Design your solution | Pick the idea that makes you feel something. Now ask: Who would use it? When would they use it? How would it actually help? If it feels too complex, that’s okay, simplify it. What’s the core of your idea? |
| Plan for impact | You don’t need a perfect blueprint. But it helps to think about materials, costs, or access. Could someone build this with limited resources? What would make your idea easy to share or grow? |
Whether it’s a solar-powered emergency hub, a climate education app, or a modular cooling shelter, your solution should help communities adapt and thrive in the face of climate change.
How will your innovation protect people and promote sustainability in a changing world?
Disaster Research Response (DR2) Program After major disasters, like floods, hurricanes, or wildfires, the DR2 Program provides a specialized toolkit for health-related research. |
MAIA Impact School Solar Backpacks (Guatemala) Solar-powered backpacks that provide light and charge phones during frequent power outages in rural areas. |
Australian Flood Risk Information Portal (AFRIP) A real-time flood forecasting and mapping platform used by emergency services to issue alerts and plan evacuation. |
"At CBT Technology Institute, we believe that the future belongs to those who innovate with purpose. Through the CBT Tech Climate Solutions Challenge, we are empowering students to become architects of resilience—using technology to tackle the urgent challenges of climate change. In partnership with NFTE’s World Series of Innovation, we continue to honor our legacy of 'Tradition Meets Innovation' by equipping young minds to lead boldly, think sustainably, and build solutions that matter."
