Elizabeth Wathuti, a young Kenyan climate leader and environmental activist has been named by TIME to the 2022 TIME100 Next list after she compellingly asked world leaders to open their hearts at the Glasgow COP26 climate conference last year.
Elizabeth’s powerful advocacy on the international stage has helped bring to the world’s attention the climate impacts already devastating her home country, Kenya, and other countries across the African continent.
Earlier this year, she launched an international campaign calling for the upcoming COP27 climate change negotiations in Egypt to establish a dedicated loss and damage finance facility to help those least responsible for causing the climate crisis to cope with its impacts.
Elizabeth leads important grassroots work at home in Kenya, where she is the Founder of the Green Generation Initiative (GGI), a tree-growing initiative that enhances food security for young Kenyans, inspired by the work of the late Nobel Laureate Professor Wangari Maathai. Elizabeth is also Head of Campaigns and Founding Director of the African Youth Climate Leaders Hub at the Wangari Maathai Foundation.
Elizabeth is passionate about nurturing young people to love the natural world and is inspired daily by the solidarity and friendship she experiences through the global youth climate movement.
“It is a great honor to be included in this year’s TIME100 Next list. Today I especially wish to celebrate the tireless efforts of my friends in the global youth climate movement, who are also fighting every day for a safe future. Together, we are an unstoppable movement of millions, and we will not tire, we will make change happen.”
An expansion of the TIME100 list of the most influential people in the world, TIME100 Next highlights 100 emerging leaders who are shaping the future of business, entertainment, sports, politics, health, science and activism, and more. The full list and related tributes appear in the Oct. 10 / Oct. 17 issue of TIME, available on newsstands on Friday, Sept. 30, and now live at time.com/next.
