Renee Zhao
2025 Youth Climate Activism Award - Video Entry
Renee is a 17 year old from British Columbia.
Renee receiving her award from her teacher Ms. Alves .
Photo courtesy of Climate Storytellersโ Summit Speakers page here at the very bottom of the page.
Renee began her journey using poetry to address climate grief and exclusion from environmental discussions. Despite coming from a modest background, Renee made her mark as the president of her school's Environmental Council, leading initiatives that earned her school the Eco Schools Platinum Award. Sheโs also created impactful programs like the Youth Climate Action Midsummer Program, reaching over 300,000 youth globally, and founded the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Youth nonprofit.
Reneeโs activism blends art and environmental advocacy, showcased in her event, EcoHarmony, which connected over 20,000 youth globally to climate action through music, poetry, and creative storytelling. Her work was recently recognized with the title of one of Canadaโs Top 25 Environmentalists under 25, and she spoke at the Climate Storyteller Summit about the power of storytelling to catalyze change. Renee continues to use her platform to amplify marginalized voices, fight for climate justice, and push for accessible climate programs.
Her activism also includes organizing the British Columbia Student Climate Policy Meeting, presenting proposals for clean transportation, net-zero school construction, and mental health support for youth facing climate anxiety. Renee believes that anyone, regardless of their background, can make a difference, and encourages young people everywhere to raise their voices and share their stories.
Renee Zhaoโs NYCAA 2025 Submission Video
OTHER AWARDS
The Starfish โTop 25โ Winner 2025 โRecognized by the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Former Minister of Environment and Climate Change, and MP Laurel Collins of Victoria
Courtesy of The Starfish. Visit Reneeโs page here.
2024 Poetry & Spoken Word
Read Reneeโs Poem โCongratulations: Successfully Achieved!" HERE.
WAYS TO FOLLOW RENEE
Instagram Profile for the Canadian Youth Climate Action Team โ @ycatinc.canada
Instagram Profile for United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Youth (currently undergoing rebranding, so inactive) โ @usdgyouth
โ Your voice matters, your story matters, and you can change everything.โ
~Renee Zhao
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?
Iโm working to launch a new initiative called โRooted in Reality,โ a global youth storytelling project that makes climate justice personal, accessible, and grounded in community. Young people, especially those from underserved or low-income backgrounds, would explore how climate injustice and the climate crisis show up in their everyday lives, from food systems to housing to public transit. They would then turn those insights into creative pieces: poems, songs, photo essays, zines, and short films that reimagine sustainability through their own lens.
As a low-income youth climate activist, I didnโt always have access to traditional platforms like social media campaigns or public conferences. But eco-poetry and storytelling only required a pen and paperโthey became my entry point into climate activism. Through them, I found my voice and a way to help others feel the urgency I was living.
Because of my lived experiences, I see creative expression as a powerful equalizer. It isnโt bound by privilege, yet it can shift how we feel, think, and act together.
โRooted in Realityโ would culminate in a digital archive and travelling exhibition shared at environmental conferences and with policymakers, helping ensure climate action reflects real peopleโs realities and creates space for community-driven change.
If you could share one message of hope for your community, what would it be? Briefly explain why you would choose this message.
Your story matters, and it can change everything.
When we speak from our truths, through poetry, protest, or quiet resilience, the climate crisis becomes relatable, human, and an โusโ problem. This โcollective human experienceโ encourages others to recognize how the environmentโs deterioration has manifested in their lives, uniting us all in the fight for a better future.
As someone who found activism through artistic mediums and storytelling, Iโve seen how creative expression can engender a movement of hope. You donโt need a huge platform or expertise to make an impact. Your reality holds weight, and your voice can move others.
Hope isnโt distant; itโs something we create together through community, connection, and care. By sharing our stories and listening deeply, we build a future rooted in justice.
So tell your story. Share your truth. That small act of courage could be what inspires someone else to believe in change, too.
Who or what inspires you to work on climate change?
I am inspired by the marginalized voices impacted by environmental injustice.
An epiphanic moment for me was when 1,500 tonnes of garbage, falsely labelled as โplastics for recycling,โ returned to my city after being sent to the Philippines. This incident revealed how companies exploit colonial hierarchies, dumping toxic waste in developing countries while neglecting to address the flaws in their own disposal systems. It made me realize that tackling climate change alone isnโt enough: to truly protect the planet, we must dismantle the systems perpetuating environmental injustices.
This realization demonstrated to me how environmental policies often fail to consider the needs of the most vulnerable communities; it sent me down a rabbit hole of exploring outdated climate policies, the effects of corporate negligence, and legal battles over environmental exploitation. As I learned more, I reflected on how climate change intersects with social justice, human rights, and inequality issues.
For me, addressing climate change from an environmental injustice lens is crucial because the communities most affected by the climate crisis are often the most suppressed and least responsible for causing it. I aim to create a more equitable and sustainable future by amplifying these voices and advocating for systemic change.