Young adult stage of life is a period where the transition takes place when one can understand the capabilities and asses the path they want to choose. Once they discover their passions and talents, there is no holding them back. Just as these young environmental activists who are rising above all challenges to stand for our planet.
1. Ryan Hickman
As early as at age of 3, Ryan went to the recycling center with his dad; ever since then he developed an interest in collecting recyclables like cans and bottles from neighbors and friends. Now he runs Ryan’s Recycling Company, along with the help of his father. They collect recyclables, unload and sort them then take them to the local recycling center.
This young environmental activist have won the Global Child Prodigy Award 2022 and Global Young Entrepreneur Society awards.
2. Jamie Margolin
The destroyed ecosystems in Seattle disturbed Jamie and she decided to take action against it. She became a young Columbian American climate justice activist and the co-executive director of the youth climate organization Zero Hour. Her organization led the 1st Youth Climate March in Washington DC along with other 25 cities around the world in summer 2018.
3. Genesis Butler
She was just 15 when she became one of the youngest people to give a TEDx talk about the environment. Genesis loves to educate people about animal rights and the negative impact of animal agriculture. She is currently the ambassador for Earth Day’s Footprints for the Future.
4. Boyan Slat
Being an aerospace engineer, his thoughts align with sustainability. Boyan, at 16, founded the Ocean Cleanup program, adding engineers, researchers, and scientists. Together they work to get rid of plastic. His TED talk about ocean plastic has become sensational and viral within a few hours.
5. Alexandria Villasenor
Disturbed by the climate’s deteriorating conditions, Alexandria started protesting every Friday near United Nations HQ. She founded the Earth Uprising organization for young climate activists.
6. Haven Coleman
When Haven was 12, she caught everyone’s attention with her amazing speech about climate change in her town hall. She was co-founder of the U S Youth Climate Strike along with a few other friends.
7. Lilly Platt
At age 7, she started the Lilly’s Plastic Pickup movement in her area to pick up plastic. One of our young environmental activists, Lilly is a renowned speaker on the environment who spoke at UN World Ocean Day, 2020.
8. Nadia Nazar
This young climate activist utilizes her art to support her goal of climate change. Nadia is the art director and co-executive director of Zero Hour. She is an influential speaker who spoke in the United Nations about climate change and was listed in People’s magazine, Top 25 Women Changing World 2018.
9. Licypriya Kangujam
When this young Indian was 12 years old, she stormed the stage of COP25 and urged world leaders to end fossil fuel and prevent climate change. Licypriya protested in front of the Indian parliament for the sake of the environment.
10. Autumn Peltier
This 19-year-old Canadian young environmental activist advocates for clean water. When Autumn was 8 years old she attended water ceremonies on the First Nation. She uses her social media handles to educate people about water problems and for better water access.
For her efforts, she received the Water Warrior Award at the Water Docs Film Festival in Toronto and was featured in the BBC 100 Women list for 2019. Through her Dreamcatcher Charitable Foundation, she offers funding to people who don’t have access to clean drinking water.
Find out about the Top 30 Notable Voices on Climate Change
11. Sharanya Chudgar
Sharanya Munjal Chudgar from San Jose, California designed a robot that can work tirelessly, addressing environmental issues when people have limited time and resources. She also became the 2023 JIC finalist with her project.
This trash-collecting robot is called the Solar-Tracking Litterminator, in short, she calls it Sally. It is not just a litter collector, but it is even made from litter, like motor wheels, trash and recycling bins.
12. Valkyrie Holmes
A 19-year-old activist and change-maker who aims to help billions of people through engineering. Valkyrie is working to enhance forest management and provide further funding for organizations protecting forests.
She also started projects to raise awareness about wildfires and sustainability. Her website Faura presents a balance between forest conservation to reducing the risks of wildfire for homeowners.
13. Greta Thunberg
A well-known and prominent Swedish climate activist, Greta started to protest from her school against climate change. Her weekly protest turned into a massive movement for young people called Fridays for Future. She spoke in the United States Congress for climate change and also received the Time Person of the Year award in 2019.
14. Haaziq Kazi
This young climate activists around the world is the 17-year-old middle-school student from Pune, India. He gained recognition for his project ERVIS, aimed at cleaning the ocean, primarily from plastic waste. It is a large ocean vessel with multiple saucers that can extract surface waste from the oceans. Collaborating with scientists and engineers, Haaziq will soon develop its 3D model.
He became one of the youngest presenters at TEDx and manages the ERVIS Foundation, to educate others about the importance of preserving the seas.
15. Ridhima Pandey
At the age of 11, she became a sustainability influencer who called for a plastic ban, and Clean Ganga River movement. Ridhima, a young environmental activist from Uttarakhand in India earned a mention in BBC’s 100 Most Influential and Empowering Women’s list. Ridhima was also awarded the Mother Teresa Memorial Award for Social Justice for advocating climate change.
16. Yola Mgogwana
This South African climate activist at the age of 11 started her fight for justice for climate change. Yola was moved by her country’s problems of pollution and water crisis. She attended a climate action project conducted by Fridays for the Future grouped with the African Climate Alliance.
17. Benjamin Stern
His observation of single-plastic use gave him the idea of manufacturing eco-friendly products. Benjamin started his company Nohbo Shamoo balls that produce shampoo balls wrapped in biodegradable packing instead of plastic. It is a certified B Corporation brand that is cruelty-free, sulphate and paraben-free.
18. Amariyanna Copeny
Popularly known as Mari Copeny or Miss Flint, she has dedicated a significant portion of her teenage years to advocating for climate change in her hometown of Flint, Michigan. At the age of 8, Mari wrote a letter to then-US President Barack Obama addressing the Flint water crisis in her community. It highlighted the serious problem of lead poisoning in drinking water. In response, Barack Obama declared a federal state of emergency for Flint and allocated a substantial fund of $100 million to address the issue.
Just as a treasure box holds various treasures, teens come with a mix of academic strengths and creative talents. Their capabilities may include leadership qualities, art & scientific interests, or social service. On this World Environment Day, we thank these young environmental activists for being our voices in this fight against climate change.
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