Description
Xiye Bastida, a 2023 TIME100 Next honoree, ended the night by reminding attendees what role the COP conferences play when it comes to the global climate conversation.
“We come here because we have a bigger responsibility to the future, to our communities, to equity, to just transitions.”
Bastida, who co-founded the Re-Earth Initiative, a youth-led climate justice nonprofit, described meeting with U.N. Secretary General António Guterres earlier in the day, who told a room full of youth climate leaders that they had inspired him to speak boldly on climate action.
“He told us, 'The reason why my words have been so sharp and my vision has been so grounded is because I listened to you,'” she said, noting the importance of intergenerational conversations on climate change.
She closed by adding that, when it comes to climate change, even if we do not have all the answers, we have a framework—grounded in Indigenous practices: stewardship and service to the land, the people around us, and future generations.
“I hope that… we [can] truly look back at this time and see that we are already living the transformation,” she said. “It's not coming; it's already happening.”
Read more: https://time.com/article/2026/11/10/cop31-time100-impact-dinner/
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