Litokne Kabua
Litokne Kabua is an 18-year-old climate activist from the Marshall Islands. Litokne’s home is experiencing firsthand the destructive effects of rising sea levels, dying corals and disappearing fish that once fed his people.
Part of a group calling on the U.N. to take action against violence directed at climate activists, he is one of 16 teens who have filed a landmark complaint against the U.N. for its lack of action on climate change. Litokne is also a Petitioner in Children vs. Climate Crisis.
Litokne uses his position in his community to teach and empower other young people about the urgency of becoming more active in the climate movement and rise up as activists sounding the alarm on the climate crisis.
Litokne tells his story in hopes that it reminds people that for so many the climate crisis is not a distant threat. Nor is the climate crisis just an environmental issue, it is inseparable from issues of human rights and justice - climate change is already destroying lives.
“I believe that world leaders need to listen to the voices of young people from small island communities when we speak about climate change, because we already experience its effects. We are telling the truth. We may not have statistics, but we have our own eyes. We see the changes that are affecting our lives. Every day we wake, we walk outside, and the ocean is there in front of us”