Meet Chris
My name’s Chris. I’m 18 and climate change is upending my life. I’ve felt the damage and danger of bushfires and cyclones firsthand.
I live on Gadigal and Guringai land in Sydney. I’m in year 12, studying remotely to manage my disabilities and pursue my climate activism. When I was younger, I wanted to be a scientist but now I want to be a lawyer and use it to make change in society.
Climate change isn’t some future threat – it’s already impacting my life.
I live with anxiety and disabilities that give me a higher risk of climate-related harm. I worry about the impact of climate change on my future and generations to come.
I’ve been fighting for climate justice for a while – cleaning beaches, going to rallies, even advising my local council.
This is actually my second human rights complaint to a UN Special Rapporteur. I first filed one in 2021 when I was 14, after living through the Black Summer bushfires and Cyclone Seroja gave me climate-triggered anxiety.
During the Black Summer bushfires, the fire came within about 100 metres of my grandparents’ house, and it almost burnt down.
Then in 2021, my family and I got caught in Cyclone Seroja when we were on holidays in Kalbarri. We had to evacuate from the town. I saw that the accommodation that we stayed at the day before had been completely demolished by the cyclone. I remember reading that 70% of buildings in Kalbarri were destroyed. I know the cyclone happened because of climate change.
With my anxiety, I jump to the worst case scenario, and catastrophise events. The thing is, the catastrophe is real.
And I’m just seeing things getting worse.
I believe the Australian government’s inaction is holding my generation back from the future we deserve. I want them to stop funding fossil fuel projects, listen to young people and protect First Nations culture and heritage.
But the Australian government keeps ignoring young people, so I’ve taken my case to the UN.
