Watch: Indian girl, 12, commands attention at COP28 with ‘end fossil fuels’ message

NEW DELHI | Updated: 12 December, 2023 5:00 pm IST
12 year-old Indian girl protests at COP28

NEW DELHI: Licypriya Kangujam, a 12-year-old climate activist from Manipur, made a dramatic entrance onto the stage at the United Nations Climate Conference 2023 (COP28) in Dubai. She sprinted onto the stage, carrying a sign above her head with the message, “End fossil fuels. Save our planet and our future.”

After hastily taking the stage, the teenager delivered a brief speech in protest of the use of fossil fuels, earning a round of applause from the audience before being escorted away by the guard at the conference.

Ambassador Majid Al Suwaidi, the Director-General of COP28, expressed his admiration for the young girl’s enthusiasm and encouraged the audience at the event to give her another round of applause.

The activist from Manipur shared the video of the incident on the microblogging site X, previously known as twitter, stating, “I was detained for over 30 minutes following this protest. My only ‘crime’ was advocating for the phasing out of fossil fuels, the primary cause of today’s climate crisis. Now, I’ve been expelled from COP28.”

View tweet below:

Kangujam later tweeted that her badges for the conference were taken away and called on for support to help protest with her at the registration desk of the conference to get her badges back.

View tweet below:

When initially Kangujam’s act of activism came into the news, she called out multiple news agencies for reporting her as a ‘protester’. She replied to them on X, saying, “Dear @Reuters, her name is not a protester. She has a name. Her name is “Licypriya Kangujam”, 12 years old Indian Climate Activist. Hope you will correct it. Thank you.”

For the unversed, Kangujam’s father had previously faced legal troubles, resulting in his arrest by the Delhi Police Special Cell in collaboration with the Manipur Police for his involvement in a fraud case. Kanarjit was accused of exploiting both national and international students, falsely representing himself as a member of the International Youth Committee (IYC). Under the guise of aiding families affected by earthquakes, he defrauded people of significant sums of money.

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