Lily YangLiu
2025 Youth Climate Activism Award - Essay Entry
Lily is a 16 year old from Vancouver
There was a little girl who grew up in a metropolisβglass towers, five-minute food deliveries, bright lights on every corner. But the lights didnβt show you everything. They didnβt show the haze. The smog. The child-sized oxygen masks. The quiet hospital rooms where machines hummed louder than laughter. She was five when she couldnβt breathe. Six when the word βsurgeryβ entered her vocabulary. Ten, when a doctor said, βThis may be the only way.β
That girl was me.
But I never had that surgery.
The smog was treated as a simple misfortuneβsomething to endure. No real solutions ever emerged; climate change was never even mentioned. And so I realized that without climate literacy, there can be no climate action.
In Canada, I learned that climate change was only introduced in high school. Thatβs when I knew I had to do something, and thatβs how I began my advocacy for climate literacy.
Lily with Steven Guilbeault, Canadaβs former Minister of Environment and Climate Change (currently the Minister of Canadian Heritage).
In 2020, I began on social media, first focusing on policy. During this time, I interviewed MLAs, MPs, and city council members, asking them questions about our future. In 2023, I started posting a series called Daily Climate News (via WeChat and Little Red Book (Xiaohongshu) under the channel name ζ¨ζ³δΎδΎηε°ε¦ε ), covering both the positive and negative, as an attempt to increase climate literacy through social media. To date, Iβve made over 550 videos. As a visible minority, equality and justice are deeply important to me, so in my videos, I highlight the disproportionate impacts of climate change. Iβm proud to have gained a following of around 100,000 people and grateful for the community Iβve built.
I wanted to do something more tangible, so in 2024, I co-created a climate curriculum for elementary schools and facilitated workshops in classrooms. I also lobbied for climate education at the provincial level.
Lily presenting at COP29 panel discussion.
I hope that one day, climate literacy will be universal. At COP29, I advocated for climate education both inside and outside the negotiation rooms and got to speak on some cool panels. Being in these spaces made me realize how young people, especially those from the Global South, are often excluded. Thatβs why I accepted a position as the Director of the Katija Hyoungjoo Neuber Institute, where we run youth delegations to international advocacy spaces. We currently have 13 active delegations!
Lily and friends at INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND Annual Meeting
Lily and other passionate climate activists on strike in Vancouver, BC
Over the past two years, Iβve joined several youth councils, including the World Ocean Day Youth Council, the Committee of Children First, and the board of Youth Climate Corps (YCC), where we advocate for well-paying green jobs for young people.
Lily speaking at a Fridayβs for Future Vancouver strike.
β I am inspired by everyone working toward a better future and I know change is possible.β
~Lily-YangLiu
Lily in the NEWS
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Lily being interviewed by ClimaTalk at COP29. click to watch on LinkedIn or click here to watch on IG
As part of the submissions application we asked participants to answer these 3 questions in addition to their essay or video.
What future goals do you have around your environmental and climate work, and do you have any future projects in mind?
I plan to create two global picture books, both led by elementary and middle school students. One will showcase how climate change has impacted their daily lives and how they perceive it. The other will highlight the solutions and steps theyβre taking to combat climate change. Iβm launching this project on World Ocean Day.
Literature has the power to shape how we understand the world. Books like The Lorax by Dr. Seuss had a profound impact on me. Art can shift perceptions and spark action. Right now, thereβs a gap in climate materials that genuinely reflect childrenβs voices on a global scale, and I want to help fill that gap. I hope these books will inspire empathy, raise awareness, foster global connection, and encourage meaningful climate action from a young age.
I was thrilled to hear that climate change will now be integrated into the Kβ3 curriculum in B.C., with Grade 4 to 8 coming next. Iβve been invited to help develop some of the resources, and I hope to advocate for climate education across all provinces.
After university, where I hope to study environmental policy, I want to become a climate negotiator!
If you could share one message of hope for your community, what would it be? Briefly explain why you would choose this message.
This is a little excerpt of the speech I gave at the Vancouver climate strike, and I felt like it resonated a lot:
βYoung people make up nearly half of the worldβs population, but less than 3% of parliamentarians. We are not given a seat at the table. Too often, weβre given a pat on the head, a photo op, and a thank-you-for-your-passion.
But let me tell you something: we are not here for decoration. We are here for disruption. Because we are not just the inheritors of this crisisβwe are the architects of its solution.
So to anyone here who has ever felt too small to matterβremember this:
Every movement that has changed the course of history began with people who were not supposed to win. People who were underestimated. People like you.
And to the adults, the institutions, the systems that tell us to be patientβI ask you: How do you tell someone whose home is underwater to be patient?
We are not asking for patience. We are demanding justice.β
Who or what inspires you to work on climate change?
First, I will always credit my parents. My dad is a fighter. He fought for freedom, and through that, he showed me that even when times are tough, you have to stand up for what you believe in. I have a very unique last name, YangLiuβtwo last names in one, which is uncommon in East Asian culture. Thatβs because my mom believed her name carried equal weight. She taught me to always believe in my worth, no matter what and how others view me.
Both of them gave me the confidence to fight for what I believe in. Without them, I wouldnβt be able to speak out and stand up for what I love.
I was inspired in part by fear. Fear that if I donβt do something, no one willβand then it might be too late. Iβm scared that my children might grow up in a metropolis like I did, without the option to live somewhere surrounded by nature.
Iβve experienced climate burnout, but itβs the community that keeps me going. Iβve found a family here, and their encouragement keeps me fighting. My friends are my idols and my inspiration. That is a wonderful feeling.