Ankith Suhas Rao: The 16-year-old climate warrior from India who will speak at COP27

India is all set to make its presence feel at the United Nations climate summit, COP27, in Egypt. And it’s just not going to be politicians and high-level delegates. A teenager from India will be among the young participants who will speak at the summit.

Current school head boy, a future climate scientist?

Sixteen-year-old Ankith Suhas Rao is passionate about the environment and has been picked as part of an elite group of students who will speak at the conference, which has sought greater involvement from youth.

Rao studies at the Hyderabad Public School and is an ideal student. He is the head boy of the school and has been long involved in initiatives linked to climate awareness. He is part of a programme called Decarbonise launched by the Centre for Global Education of Canada, which allows students below 18 years to deliberate on climate change and present their findings to the world, reports News18.

Hyderabad Public School is the leading school in India for the programme, which sees the participation of students from 70 countries. Every year, a few students are selected to speak at the UN climate summit and this year Rao has been picked.

For Rao, who aspires to become a climate scientist, attending COP27 is a big milestone. He will present a white paper at the meeting on learnings and observations on climate change which have been “accumulated over the years”, he said.

‘Climate change is happening’

The 16-year-old will also attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference of Youth (COY17). At the 10-day programme, he will get an opportunity to interact with world leaders and other climate warriors just like him. “I will bring these learnings back to my country and try to implement them here to the best of my ability,” he said.

For five years, the teenager has been associated with the school’s COP group. He has been part of activities related to raising climate awareness in Hyderabad and establishing sustainable green practices in school, he told News18. “We’ve had numerous discusses with our counterparts from other countries who shared their best practices with us,” he said.

Hyderabad Public School students who are part of the COP club, have created rainwater harvesting pits, installed solar panels and reduced the use of plastic on campus.

“We have taken it upon ourselves to tell people that climate change is happening and that it’s happening very fast. One of the topics that we took up was unseasonal rains in Hyderabad and the flash floods that wreaked havoc on the city. Through rallies and drives, we raise awareness on why these events occur and how they affect us in the long run,” he told News18.

At this year’s summit, the participation of students has been encouraged. Ahead of the conference, on 3 November, students and teachers from across the world got together at a global online discussion to share ideas, solutions, and innovative projects for climate action. In an interactive session, youth leaders and innovators presented their ideas and recommendations. The online event was an opportunity for schools to showcase their sustainability practices and environmental projects, according to United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Indian students at COP

Hyderabad Public School has made a mark when it comes to climate action. Rao is not the first student from the institution to attend the UN summit. At COP26 in Glasgow in 2021, Pavan Trishu Kumar was selected to present a manifesto on behalf of students from 54 countries. He presented #Decarbonize: Global Youth Manifesto and spoke about his work in the blue zone, which is restricted to official conference delegates.

Another Indian schoolgirl from Tamil Nadu addressed the World Leaders’ Summit of the COP26 conference in Glasgow with a clarion call for them to act and save the planet. Vinisha Umashankar, who was 15, was part of the “Accelerating Clean Technology Innovation and Deployment” also attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Umashankar’s solar-powered ironing cart project was the finalist of Prince William’s inaugural Earthshot Prize.

She invited world leaders, international organisations, civil society, and business leaders to stand with her generation and back the innovations, solutions and projects working to repair the planet and join the next generation in taking action.

“We chose not to complain, but take actions that will make us wealthier and healthier. We chose to do these things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard. Rising to these challenges will shape a new generation. A generation that will build a better world for all of us and generations to come,” she said.

“We won’t wait for you to act. We will lead even if you don’t. We’ll build the future, even if you are stuck in the past,” she added.

At COP25, eight-year-old Licypriya Kangujam, known as the “Indian Greta Thunberg” made her mark. Speaking at the climate conference held in Madrid in 2019, the young activist from Manipur gave the world a glimpse of her resolve as she urged global leaders to “act now against climate change”.

“I have come here to tell the world leaders that this is the time to act as it is a real climate emergency,” the young activist enthralled the audience during a high-level event at ‘The UN Climate Change Conference COP25”.

With inputs from agencies

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