Meet Eliza
I’m Eliza, I’m 21. I live with chronic illnesses, and climate change is making life even harder. As someone on the frontline of climate injustice, I’m determined to make our leaders act.
I live on Ngunnawal Country in Canberra. I’ve been navigating life with multiple chronic illnesses since I was 16 – conditions that have no cure, only management to make life a little more bearable.
I’m a passionate disability advocate, creating content on TikTok and YouTube to raise awareness about what it means to live with chronic illness.
But climate change makes everything harder.
Heatwaves leave me bedridden, smoke from bushfires worsens my symptoms, and sudden weather shifts can be debilitating.
I’ve even renovated a van in case I need to move suddenly, because I know my housing situation isn’t secure.
As a disabled person, climate change feels personal. Rising temperatures make my daily life more difficult, on top of my struggles with financial and housing insecurity.
Climate change isn’t a distant problem – it’s here, and disabled people are already feeling the worst of it. Australia’s leaders need to act now, because while the impacts might not be obvious to everyone yet, it’s only a matter of time.
Even though I am disappointed by the lack of action by government on anything, I don’t think it’s too late. I don’t think we are a lost cause and excited to see what the government can come up with.
It’s not too late to love the earth and to put that into action. I feel so much love for this earth and I hope other people can see that and want to make that change as well.
I want the Australian government to take this seriously and create a world where accessibility is prioritised, and real climate action ensures everyone can live safely and happily.
A dream world for me is an accessible world and tackling climate change to stop extreme weather changes. This would help me so much.
I am already at the frontline. Please do it now – take action on climate.
