"Rich Nations Must Pay Billions Of Dollars": 12-Year-Old Climate Activist Licypriya Kangujam At COP28

Climate activist Licypriya Kangujam has demanded rich nations pay billions of dollars for the damage caused by the climate crisis to poor countries. The 12-year-old was speaking at the ongoing United Nations Climate Conference 2023 (COP28) in Dubai.

Ms Kangujam has also shared a video of her address on X (formerly Twitter). She represented the frontline communities fighting against the climate crisis.

She has asked for “transparency, accountability, and a commitment to science-based solutions that will safeguard our environment for future generations.”

The note attached to the video read, “My speech at today's climate protest at COP28 UAE. I may be just a 12-year-old small girl but my hopes and dreams are big.”

In her speech, Ms Kangujam said, “Millions of children like me are losing their lives, losing their parents and losing their homes due to climate disasters. This is a real climate emergency. Sacrificing the lives of millions of innocent children for the failures of our leaders is unacceptable at any cost.”

Criticising world leaders, she added, “Instead of spending billions of dollars in wars, if we spent it on ending hunger, giving education and fighting climate change, what a great place our earth would be! COP28 Climate Summit is now become a Fossil Fuel Summit. We will not allow our future and our planet to be compromised at any cost with oil, coal and gas - the top causes of the climate crisis today. We will continue to raise our voices.”

Ms Kangujam claimed funds offered to the cause of climate change shouldn't be in the form of debt or loan to any vulnerable nation.

She stated, “Adoption of loss and damage fund in COP28 is a historic one. It's a good start but it is still not enough. What we want is not millions, but tens of billions and this shouldn't be in the form of loans or debt traps for developing nations. Governments must work together to phase out fossil fuels.”

While citing COP28 president Sultan Ahmed's claim that “there is no science behind fossil fuel phase-out,” Ms Kangujam argued it to be unacceptable.

She said, “This is a really unacceptable statement from him. IPCC clearly says that we need to keep our planet's temperature below 1.5 degrees Celsius based on science only. This is what you can expect when an oil leader hosts a Climate Summit”.

The 12-year-old is a Special Envoy of Timor Leste. About 60,000 delegates from 190 nations are a part of this year's climate conference in Dubai.