Climate Future Leaders 2024: Ten young people who are putting the planet first
September 25 - As a girl growing up in Nigeria, Sandra C Chukwudozie was struck by the stark contrast between the country’s abundant natural resources – oil, gas and minerals – and the overwhelming energy poverty of its people.
The country of 230 million people ranks bottom in the world for electricity access, with 45% of its population lacking access to the electricity grid, according to a recent United Nations report.
“This paradox ignited a deep passion within me to challenge the status quo,” she says “and break the cycle of injustice that had persisted for decades.”
In 2017, at the age of 24, she founded a company, Salpha Energy, which has since brought access to clean, reliable energy to over 1.5million Nigerians and small businesses. Salpha has done this by making energy affordable, working with micro-finance suppliers and co-operatives.
Last year she launched the first female-owned solar home system assembly plant in sub-Saharan Africa, with capacity to produce 250,000systems a year – providing jobs to Africans as well as clean electricity.
Chukwudozie is one of 10 extraordinary young people honoured in Reuters Events’ first annual Climate Future Leaders list, recognizing the significant strides they have made early in their careers on tackling climate change.
The list also includes, in alphabetical order: David Carlin,a prominent advisor to governments, corporates and financial institutions on climate and ESG; Anya Doherty, founder of UK food sustainability platform Foodsteps; Maria Eugenia Filmanovic, who is bringing climate finance and research solutions to companies in the voluntary carbon market; Sophia Kianni,an Iranian-American activist who leads the world’s largest youth-led climate nonprofit; Xavi Laguarta, co-founder of a startup that supports farmers totransition towards more sustainable rice cultivation; Alex Lombos, who leads on commercial banking and transition finance at Client Earth; John Tyler McCullough, who co-leads strategy on climate transition plans for the U.S.nonprofit advocacy group Ceres; Boyan Slat, a Dutch inventor who is developing and scaling technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic; and Anastasia Volkova, founder of a startup that is helping the agrifood industry to decarbonize its value chains.
In naming our list of Climate Future Leaders, we looked for individuals, born since 1990, who have already made a significant contribution to the fight against climate change.
To draw up the list, we consulted Ethical Corporation journalists, colleagues in Reuters News, conference organizers in Reuters Events, this year's cohort of women on our Trailblazing Women in Climate list,as well as sustainability industry experts. Our Climate Future Leaders were all asked to provide their own biographies, and to answer at least two of the four following questions.
Their thoughtful answers reveal the immense sense of frustration and powerlessness felt by many young people today, growing up in a world where alarm bells are ringing that the planet is in peril. For our Climate Future Leaders, doing something about it has been the way to take back their future.
As Boyan Slat says: "I hope that The Ocean Cleanup can inspire others to not be fatalistic about the problems we face but to embrace what humanity is uniquely great at: collaborating, inventing and harnessing the ability for us to roll up our sleeves and solve problems."
But they are also clear-eyed about the enormity of the task ahead. In her advice to other young people, Maria Eugenia Filmanovic says:"Changing the system can’t be done by sprinting as if your house is on fire. While Greta Thunberg’s urgency is powerful and necessary, understand that system change is complex. It involves negotiating with key stakeholders across policy, business and finance, and this takes time. Recognize that progress often comes in small, incremental steps, and that lasting change requires persistence and strategic thinking.”
Wise words for everyone who is engaged in the vitally important work of fighting for a more sustainable future. You can read the Climate Future Leaders report here.