No climate solution without climate education, says young activist Licypriya Kangujam of Manipur

Climate activist Licypriya Kangujam (File)
| Photo Credit: NIRMAL HARINDRAN

Thirteen-year-old climate activist Licypriya Kangujam from Manipur, winner of several awards and recognitions for her inspiring interventions, said in Kochi, on Saturday (March 15, 2025) that there is no climate solution without climate education.

A vociferous supporter of concerted action for a sustainable future, she said there should be mandatory education on climate change and resilience. Ms. Kangujam was in Kochi to attend the first student conference organised by the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) at the Cochin University of Science and Technology campus.

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She said her call for climate education has had good results with State Governments in the country responding positively. While several countries are teaching climate in schools, in India, her call has prompted the governments of Gujarat and Rajasthan to launch teaching climate in schools following her call.

To those who question her young age, she said that age did not matter when it came to making a change. She said that the two cyclones in 2018 and 2019 that hit the State of Odisha, where she was studying at that time, wreaked havoc and thousands of children and women were affected. “I wanted to end this suffering,” she said pointing to the starting point as a climate activist fighting for climate action and climate justice.

She called for a climate change law in the country to contain carbon emission and more responsible climate behaviour on the part of the society.

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“The rich nations must provide climate funds for mitigation and there is no climate justice without climate finance. The rich countries cannot walk away from their responsibilities,” she said.

She said she helped plant 3.5 lakh trees across India through her programme in educational institutions and hoped to reach one million trees. She called on students at the Cochin University to join the tree planting campaign.

The climate activist also called for ban on production of single use plastic products. She said though plastic is a good contribution towards making our lives easier human behaviour has turned it into a bad product. Plastic is dumped everywhere and a permanent solution is to ban single use plastic at at the production level.

Ms. Kangujam said that the sufferings of millions of children and women, who are the most vulnerable in the face of climate change, cannot be accepted. Political leadership should be held accountable and responsible for their actions. “My generation is already a victim of irresponsible actions in the past. But the next generation cannot be left to suffer. For this we have to change as individuals, as families, as communities and as a nation and the world,” she added.

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She also said Kerala is a great example of trying to fight climate change as a State is facing several climate challenges and have faced disasters such as floods, landslides and heatwave. She recalled that she had made a contribution to the Kerala Chief Minister’s relief fund in 2018 during the epic floods in the State.