On Friday 8 December 2023 from 18:00 (GMT+4), young climate leaders will be honoured in Dubai during COP28. The awards are organised by UN Climate Change’s Global Climate Action programme. Sebastian Mwaura of Kenya and Michelle Zárate Palomec of Mexico were selected from hundreds of applicants in 120 countries for outstanding efforts to make their communities more resilient to climate challenges.
Palomec, 27, leads Espacio de Encuentro de las Culturas Originarias, which helps highly marginalised indigenous communities in Oaxaca gain access to sufficient clean water through ecological technologies and greater resilience to hydro-meteorological events. Mwaura, 35, co-founded Yna Kenya, which seeks to accelerate electric-vehicle adoption through a robust charging network powered by renewable energy. He also launched the HerGo programme to bring more women into electric mobility and create up to 12,000 jobs for women.
The two winners will be celebrated in the Global Climate Action area at COP28. The awards have been organised by the UN Climate Change programme since 2011 and the 2023 edition is supported by partners including IRENA and IUCN.
