COP28: India's Licypriya Kangujam Protests On Climate Conference Stage Demanding End To Fossil Fuel
Licypriya Kangujam, a young climate change activist from Manipur, stormed the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) stage in Dubai. The 12-year-old delivered a short speech from the COP28 stage urging world leaders to 'act now.'
Licypriya Kangujam, a young climate change activist from Manipur, stormed the stage of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai on Monday to demand an end to the use of fossil fuels.
Holding a sign above her head that read, "End fossil fuels. Save our planet and our future," the 12-year-old delivered a short speech from the COP28 stage urging world leaders to 'act now' before she was escorted out.
AP
What Licypriya Kangujam said
"Governments must work together to phase out coal, oil and gas ¨C the top cause of the climate crisis today. Your action today will decide our future tomorrow," she said.
COP28 Director-General Ambassador Majid Al Suwaidi said he admired the enthusiasm of young people at COP28 and encouraged the audience to give her another round of applause.
REUTERS
In videos posted online, Licypriya can be seen applauded by many participants as she was being removed from the stage.
Here is the full video of my protest today disrupting the UN High Level Plenary Session of #COP28UAE. They detained me for over 30 minutes after this protest. My only crime- Asking to Phase Out Fossil Fuels, the top cause of climate crisis today. Now they kicked me out of COP28. pic.twitter.com/ToPIJ3K9zM
¡ª Licypriya Kangujam (@LicypriyaK) December 11, 2023
Why she protested
"They detained me for over 30 minutes after this protest. My only crime- Asking to Phase Out Fossil Fuels, the top cause of climate crisis today. Now they kicked me out of COP28," later she wrote on social media.
"Many asked me what slogan I was raising at the COP28 Stage yesterday. It was: "Our Leaders Lies, People's Dies". It's easy to stand amongst the crowd, but it takes courage to stand alone," she said further.
Many asked me what slogan I was raising at the COP28 Stage yesterday. It was: "Our Leaders Lies, People's Dies" .
¡ª Licypriya Kangujam (@LicypriyaK) December 12, 2023
It's easy to stand amongst the crowd but it takes courage to stand alone. pic.twitter.com/hkmRW7ESNf
How COP28 failed
The protest by the Indian activist comes at a time when COP28 is facing widespread criticism for what many see as its failure to take decisive actions to stop climate change.
AP
On its last day, the COP28 in Dubai has not yet been able to reach an agreement on a historic call to phase out fossil fuels.
A new draft released Monday afternoon called for countries to reduce "consumption and production of fossil fuels, in a just, orderly and equitable manner," and stopped short of calling for a phasing out, which many had been demanding.
REUTERS
What is the criticism?
Activists said the text was written by the COP28 presidency, run by an Emirati oil company CEO, and pounced on its perceived shortcomings. It called for "phasing out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption" but fell short of a widespread push to phase out fossil fuels like oil, gas and coal altogether.
The COP presidency, in a statement, countered that the text was a "huge step forward" and was now "in the hands of the parties, who we trust to do what is best for humanity and the planet."
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Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
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