LONDON (September 26, 2024) – Young climate activists from countries disproportionately impacted by climate change will join Pacific Environment in London to advocate for zero-emission maritime shipping, including a global levy, at the United Nations International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee meeting September 30 to October 4. Activists will be available for interviews throughout the week.

The activists will be the first climate youth voices to participate in any IMO talks and are bringing a specific message to the 175 participatory nations: the IMO’s decisions on climate action directly impacts human lives and livelihoods.

A panel discussion facilitated by Pacific Environment at 1:00PM BST on Oct. 4 at the IMO London Headquarters (4 Albert Embankment, London, SE1 7SR, UK) will allow the advocates to share the hopes and challenges of local communities experiencing shipping’s climate impacts.

With millions of people currently suffering the impacts of climate change, caused in no small part by the fossil-fueled shipping industry, the youth delegation’s presence will bring the lived experiences of people on the frontlines to the rooms of the IMO and speak for those whose future will be shaped by the IMO decisions.

_{Front to back: Marcelo Rocha (Brazil), Olumide Idowu (Nigeria), Abigael Kima (Kenya), Shania Scotland (Dominica), Nicole Morson (Dominica)}

The activists are:

• Abigael Kima, Kenya
• Marcelo Rocha, Brazil
• Nicole Morson, Dominica
• Olumide Idowu, Nigeria
• Shania Scotland, Dominica
• Teresa Lifuka-Drecala, Tuvalu

Additional bio information of each activist is included at the end of this release.

The young advocates echo the concerns and the call to action from the frontline nations experiencing the impacts of climate change in proposing a levy of $150/ton of greenhouse gases. A carbon levy is necessary to achieve the IMO’s commitment to decarbonize global shipping by 2050 in an equitable way. The IMO is currently in discussions to create some form of emission pricing by April 2025, and the upcoming talks will consider important details of this policy.

The message is clear: Governments need to do their job to adopt a meaningful levy of at least $150 that accounts for the challenges people and the planet are up against and enable financial structures that help low-income countries to adapt, transition and build resilience against the climate crisis in shipping and beyond.

James Gamble, Senior Director of Pacific Environment’s Arctic Program:

“It’s vitally important that the IMO hears from communities experiencing the impacts of climate change. Pacific Environment is proud to partner with these climate activists and share their stories and their calls for action. It’s time that shipping companies pay their fair share for the climate impacts of their unfettered pollution.”

Bios of Youth Climate Activists

Abigael Kima, Kenya
Abigael Kima is a climate justice advocate, communication lead for the African Youth Climate Assembly, and host and produce of the Hail Hewa Podcast. As one of Africa’s first youth-led podcasts, she passionately uses her platform to profile African activists and climate experts on themes including a just energy transition, loss and damage, youth participation in intergovernmental processes and Indigenous rights.

Marcelo Rocha, Brazil
Born and raised in Mauá, São Paulo, Marcelo’s climate and educational activism is about supporting and training black and favela youth on climate change. With a mission to democratize knowledge, his passion is to bring people together. He is a researcher in Climate Racism, an activist with Fridays For Future Brasil and FFF MAPA (Most Affected Peoples and Areas), and the creator of the Festival Favela em Casa and the Emergency Fund to Support Favela Artists and Collectives. In 2021 he hosted the TEDx Talk “Favelas and Climate Change”.

Nicole Morson, Dominica
Experiencing the devastation of Hurricane Maria and Irma in her community of Dominica sparked Nicole’s environmental awareness and commitment to advocating for stronger climate action. As a professional creative, Nicole uses storytelling to shed light on the climate crisis. She is a collaborator in the “Suriving Storms project” about how Dominican people prepared for, survived and recovered from Maria and earlier storms. She is also a strong advocate for the protection of whales and safeguarding the world’s first marine protected area for sperm whales located in Dominica.

Olumide Idowu, Nigeria
Olumide Idowu is a Nigerian climate champion and campaigner. Olumide Idowu started his climate activism journey in his undergraduate days which prompted his participation in the open hearings of the National Assembly (Nigeria). With over 13 years of experience in climate change activism, he engages both younger and older generations through his involvement in climate change organizations and social media, where he is known as “Mr. Climate”. He co-founded and heads the International Climate Change Development Initiative with a mission to create climate-smart generations in Africa and address development disparities.

Shania Scotland, Dominica
Shania realised her true passion for the environment early in life. She has dedicated her academic and professional career to driving sustainable change, working on sustainable development projects impacting the lives of climate-vulnerable groups such as women, youth and the Indigenous people in Canada and Dominica. As the Climate Smart Agriculture Officer at the World University Service of Canada, she finds particular joy in utilizing data to tackle climate challenges. Shania is an active participant in community service with a strong commitment to building resilient communities and shaping effective disaster management strategies.

Teresa Lifuka-Drecala, Tuvalu
Teresa is the president of the Tuvalu National Youth Council Board and awarded sustainable development advocate. Since she was young, her ambition and passion have been to support the vulnerable and strengthen capacity building at every level of society. She is passionate about empowering all Tuvaluans to use sustainable, practical, and contextually relevant methods to combat climate change, and has a range of experiences working with projects that strengthen the inclusion and collaboration between NGOs, island communities, and government agencies for sustainable development in Tuvalu.