She is only nine, but Licypriya Kangujam has already been campaigning for action to tackle climate change in Delhi. Recently, when the city's air pollution level went down again, the climate activist appealed to the government to declare a health emergency in the national capital.
She tweeted:
“I would like to appeal to everyone to not use firecrackers to celebrate Diwali because it creates a lot of noise and air pollution which is very dangerous for our health. Millions of children are dying every year due to the air pollution crisis,” said nine-year-old Kangujam. While protesting she also held a placard which read “Declare health emergency in Delhi. We are choking!”
Here are ten things to know about climate activist Licypriya Kangujam.
1.Kangujam is a resident of Manipur. She turned to climate activism after attending a fundraising event for victims of a deadly earthquake in Nepal in 2015. She had accompanied her father, KK Singh there.
2. Her resolution further strengthened after attending a UN disaster conference in Mongolia with her father in 2018. "My heart feels sore for people who cannot help themselves when disaster strikes," she had said.
3. She has been campaigning in India for two years. She has also founded 'The Child Movement’ to fight against air pollution.
4. Last month, Kangujam took to the streets in Delhi's Vijay Chowk area to protest over the air pollution issue in the national capital.
5. Last month, she and a fellow activist Aarav Seth, 12, were briefly detained by the police for protesting against the rising air pollution outside Parliament House.
6. Addressing at the United Nations Climate Conference (COP25) in Madrid, Spain in December 2019, the young activist said, “I want our leaders to take action to fight air pollution. They are busy blaming each other instead of finding a solution. No action is being taken.”
7. On being compared to climate activist Greta Thunberg, Kangujam said that she has her "own identity, story".
"I already began a movement to fight climate change before Greta started," she said, adding that the two are "good friends" who "respect each other".
8. In the latest, she has designed 'Sukifu' device, she calls it a survival kit for the future of young children like her.
9. Urging global leaders to "act now against climate change", Kangujam has also started campaigning to make climate change a compulsory subject in schools in India.
10. Kangujam has, so far, travelled to 21 countries and spoken at many events as a part of her movement.
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