One Earth, One Future: 7 Years of Climate Activism and Learning

Greetings Rotarians, 

Thank you for returning to my blog series. These past two months have been very busy with the closing of my last term and the start of summer in Sweden. In this blog post, I will reflect on the past 7 years of engaging in climate activism. As you know, I am a Rotary Grant Scholar for the Environment, so I have had a long passion for climate activism in Arkansas and abroad. 

This will be a longer post! So feel free to skim. Let me share a little with you, my journey and inspiration to engage in climate action, and why it is so important as Rotarians to save the planet. 

Where It Began (2018-2019)

My interest in climate change began in 2018 with the activism of Greta Thunberg. You may recognize her name. She is a world-famous Swedish climate activist who inspired the Fridays for Future movement. Greta left school and protested against fossil fuels and bringing global attention to the climate crisis. Her example inspired millions of youth. 

In March and September 2019, over 4,500 youth-led strikes, with over 7.6 million children and youth, took place around the world in over 150 countries.  We even had one in Conway, Arkansas, that I joined near Hendrix College with some classmates. To us, Arkansan youth, the climate crisis respects no borders and will impact our futures and the futures of our children. 

Figure 1 - Greta Thunberg protesting in Stockholm (2018)

Figure 2 - Friday For Future Protests in 2019

Figure 3 - Climate protest in Conway, Arkansas (2019)

I can say that my participation in the Fridays for Future marches changed my future. Like many others, I was inspired by Greta's example and wanted to find a way to bring attention to this topic that is often neglected. So, I started to align my studies at Hendrix College to focus on the climate crisis. I read Al Gore's books and attended lectures. I started to become concerned with the impacts of the climate crisis in different parts of the world, and whether there were solutions out there. 

In particular, I became interested in East Asia and the Asia-Pacific region. A part of the world that has the highest number of climate-related disasters globally. So, I traveled to Japan as a Tomodachi Kakehashi Inouye Scholar in 2018 as part of a US-Japan culture exchange. I became interested in how Japan approached renewable energy and disaster risk management. 

Figure 4 - US-Japan Youth Exchange (2018)

In 2019, I studied abroad in Zhuhai, China, near Hong Kong, and attended a social business and sustainability conference in Thailand. There, I met Muhammad Yunus, a 2006 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who gave microfinance loans to the most vulnerable in society to bolster their resilience to climate impacts. Turns out he knows quite a bit about Arkansas and is friends with Bill Clinton. We talked about how Bill Clinton invited him to Arkansas to set up a microfinance initiative in Pine Bluff! It goes to show, you never know where life might take you. 

Each step of the way, I learned from other cultures and listened to their stories, anxieties, and approaches to address the climate crisis. After returning to Arkansas, I would later write my Bachelor's thesis on climate change adaptation in China, Japan, and the Asia-Pacific, reflecting on all I had learned over those years traveling. This was very much inspired by Haden Chomphosy, Professor of Economics at Hendrix College, and his willingness to talk about climate change and be my thesis advisor. 

Figure 5 - Meeting Muhammad Yunus in Bangkok, Thailand. (2019)

But this also left a desire to have an impact in my home state and see whether Arkansas had a strong awareness of climate change. As we know, you only know a risk if you are aware of it or live it. So, at the community level, with a few lovely Arkansas-based NGOs and advocacy groups from Arkansas Peace Week, we organized a youth climate conference in Little Rock and invited youth to learn about ecological communities and the climate crisis. I started to learn what it felt like to organize public events and engage in more grassroots-level advocacy from mentors like Sophia Said. I also learned about how helpful public libraries are, as the Central Arkansas Library hosted our summit. Thank you, Nancy Allen, for inspiring me to reach out to a library. 

It also made me think about how Arkansas will experience the impacts of the climate crisis. Our tornado and storm season will become worse. Summer heatwaves will be longer and harsher. Drought may affect crop stability. Yet, we so often do not hear about this in Arkansas. However, many Arkansans do care. And this conference showed me how climate change is an intergenerational issue for Arkansas. Serendipitously, in 2022, I was able to represent Arkansan Youth in the US-UN youth consultations for the UN Climate Strategy. This consultation had youth representatives from across all the US states to give their views and priorities on the climate crisis to the UN. Talk about some Sweet Tea diplomacy!!

Figure 6 - WE RISE Climate Summit (2020)

The UN and COVID-19 Pandemic Wake-Up Call (2020-2021) 

And then, in 2020, our lives were upended by the COVID-19 pandemic. It was my first time dealing with a global risk that disrupted our societies to their core. I remember feeling extreme anxiety and hopelessness as countries seemed unable and unwilling to work together to manage the pandemic. The pandemic was a "when," not an "if"; scientists knew that a global health crisis like this would come eventually and warned global leaders. Yet, many chose to push pandemic preparedness down the line and focus on short-term election priorities rather than long-term resilience and preparedness. As a result, countries hoarded vaccines. Blamed each other. And communities suffered. 

In the back of my mind, COVID-19 proved to be a litmus test for how the global community would handle a global crisis together. If they could not work together on a pandemic, how could they manage future ecological crises and climate impacts? 

Wanting to find an answer to this, I joined the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs as a Research Intern in the Youth Unit. I researched the impacts of COVID-19, youth unemployment, and the climate crisis on youth futures and mental well-being. At this time, the UN wanted to hear from the youth, and we organized global youth consultations on mental health and wellbeing and listened to how young people were impacted by the crisis. 

II was the only young person in this unit, and felt the anger and frustration that our futures were being impacted by events beyond our control and without our consent. Schools shut down. College graduates had a hard time finding jobs. Suicide rates increased. Debt increased as young people took out loans they could not afford to repay just to get by or finish their education. This is just the experience in the West. In developing countries, it was much worse with long-term, intergenerational impacts that disrupted economic and societal development for decades.  

Figure 7 - COVID-19 impacts (2020)

And then.....COVID-19 disappeared, or more likely, we gave up and learned to live with it. We did not learn any lessons from it. And the world chose to forget the tragedies of the pandemic as an "act of nature and god" rather than an act of mismanagement and poor decision-making. A whole generation of youth now feels anxiety about the next crisis, the next shutdown, the next time they are left behind. 

Do you want to know a striking result from the UN youth consultation on mental health and wellbeing? The greatest concern and source of anxiety for young people was not the active COVID-19 pandemic. It was the collective toll of the climate crisis. They chose that as their main concern. This was consistent from youth across various regions. This feeling of grief and anxiety has been termed "climate anxiety" or "climate depression". And it is growing at unprecedented speed. Overall, the COVID-19 pandemic taught me that we cannot wait for the next crisis to come. We cannot allow tragedies, risks, and crisis to become hyper-normalized. Not when we have other options. We need to act, prepare, and be resilient.  

Learning from a Friend (2020 - ) 

However, out of desperate times and crises also comes deep friendships. Luckily, a dear friend and mentor saw something in me during this time as I was deep in quarantine. While I was writing my bachelor's thesis, Elliott Harris agreed to an interview. At the time, Elliott was the Chief Economist at the United Nations and Assistant Secretary General for Economic Development, which means he could have ignored my email entirely, and it would have been 1000% acceptable. But he did not, so here we are.

Elliott has a remarkable ability to inspire youth and listen, and has been a dear friend for five years now. Equipped with a Gentleman's accent, he can introduce any topic, and you will be mesmerized. When I went to New York, he gave my friends and I a tour around the city and talked with us about the climate crisis, development, and his life story. Elliott was instrumental in helping me intern at the UN, and has been in my corner ever since. But he also adopts almost every young person he meets, and is always acting in the spirit of Rotary. But more on that later!! 

Figure 8 - Elliott Harris and I in New York (2021)

Figure 9 - Elliott Harris at the UN

Figure 10 - Me at the UNHQ New York (2021)

Learning from Others (2021-2024) 

The UN taught me the need for youth involvement in policies and the necessity to manage risks proactively and in advance. It also taught me that you need to go beyond governments and reach everyday people, especially youth. As I result, I started to engage more in youth global activism and policy. We needed to prepare for the climate crisis now more than ever. As a result, I gained climate science and activist training from Al Gore's Climate Reality Leadership Corp. I joined YOUNGO, the children and youth constituency to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). One thing led to another. And I kept going deeper. I met climate activists from all around the world and learned about what governments were doing to cut fossil fuel emissions and adapt to climate disasters. I would continue this work abroad when I moved to Japan in 2021. 

Figure 11 - Al Gore gives a Climate Science Talk

While living in Japan as an English Teacher with the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program, I taught after-school classes on the climate crisis and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. I learned from Japanese youth their experience of the climate crisis and increased disasters in Japan. After a year, I became a Climate and Sustainability Program Officer with Young Professionals in Foreign Policy (YPFP) Tokyo, and organized national youth climate conferences for Japanese youth for three years (2022 to 2024). 

My team and I trained youth delegates in policy writing and advocacy. We also invited speakers from across Japan and the Asia-Pacific to learn from each other and engage with youth. This ultimately led to the creation of children and youth policy statements on climate change, which were given to leaders in the Japanese government. We wanted to impact policy and pressure governments to take the climate crisis seriously. In Japan, I learned how to engage with and learn from a new culture as an expat and how to create societies that are more resilient to climate impacts. Japan has a wealth of knowledge on how to deal with natural disasters, ranging from floods and earthquakes to tsunamis. The Japanese always think ahead. So should we. 

Figure 12 - LCOY Japan Youth Delegate Video (2022)

Figure 13 - LCOY Japan Youth Delegates

Figure 14 - LCOY Japan Coordination Team (2023)

During this time, I also did a Global Policy Diplomacy & Sustainability (GPODS) Fellowship based out of India. GPODS is a global network of over 100+ mentors in public policy, diplomacy, and sustainability. For four months, I learned about international climate policy and learned about climate impacts in South Asia and the Hindu Kush Himalayas. In South Asia, climate vulnerabilities are extreme because of poor development, inequalities, and climate extremes. The seasonal weather patterns are leading to extreme floods, heat waves, and disaster events, which trap people in a disaster-poverty cycle. Moreover, the melting of the Himalayan ice and glaciers is impacting water availability and food production now and in the coming decades.

Figure 15 - Climate Impacts in India

I would later visit Nepal and trek in the Himalayas with some friends, where we talked with local guides and porters about how the climate crisis was making avalanches more likely, drying up rivers, and changing the duration of the monsoon and winter seasons. Inspired by this, I wrote my GPODS fellowship capstone on water governance and cross-border climate impacts in the Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra River basins. It will be published in a book later this fall. My experience at GPODS taught me how dire the climate crisis is for more vulnerable and at-risk communities and countries. While the climate crisis affects us all, we are not all affected equally. 

Figure 16 - Trekking in the Himalayas (2023)

A Nordic Lens! (2024 - 2025) 

Now, I have moved to Sweden, where I am studying an MSc in Disaster Risk Management and Climate Change Adaptation at Lund University. At Lund, I am gaining my formal education and skills to address the environmental, social, and disaster impacts of the climate crisis. I am also learning about how the climate crisis is impacting Europe and the Nordic region. The growing consensus is, not even Europe is immune to the need to pursue adaptation. They may be less vulnerable than developing countries, but extreme weather and climate events are substantially impacting Europe. 

Over the past year, I have had an interesting time learning from Swedish and European youth at conferences and in my classes. As a rule, they are quite engaged with climate action. It has been exciting to learn from them all and embarking on a new project. Since moving to Sweden, I have joined Global Shapers Malmö and PUSH Sweden to organize a regional youth-led climate conference to unite youth voices and perspectives from across the Nordics. We are calling it the Nordic Youth and Children Climate Conference (NYCCC), and it will be held in Stockholm. Together, I am on the NYCCC coordination team with eight other youth NGOs from Iceland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland. We meet twice a week to coordinate meetings, outreach, and programs. We were given 30,000 Euros by the Nordic Climate and Biodiversity Fund from the Danish Youth Council to organize the conference in September. You can find out more here in our concept note. 

Figure 17 - NYCCC Poster (2025)

We are inviting youth from across the Nordics to draft the Nordic Children and Youth Statement on Climate Change, which will be delivered to the Nordic Council of Ministers and Nordic Governments. In this, I am learning how Sweden is addressing the climate crisis and how the Arctic region is impacted. It is my first time organizing a regional conference, but I am building on my experiences in Japan and Arkansas. No matter what country or region you find yourself in, you can always find a way to help on climate action. And you make some pretty amazing friends along the way. 

Figure 18 - Melting Arctic Sea Ice

The UN Bonn Climate Conference (2025)

As part of my engagement with PUSH Sweden, I was able to attend the SB62 UN Bonn Climate Conference in Bonn, Germany, last week, as an international NGO observer. SB62 stands for the 62nd session of the Subsidiary Bodies of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Long story short, it is the climate negotiations before the COP30 climate conference in Brazil this November. 

Figure 19 - UNFCCC Observer Badge

Figure 20 - UN Bonn Climate Conference Hall

The Bonn Climate Conference was one of the best experiences of my life. I was able to attend the negotiations on the Global Goal on Adaptation, Loss & Damages, and numerous side events. I met youth activists and policymakers from all across the world and YOUNGO, and we ran from hall to hall observing and liaising with different stakeholders and trying to bring children & youth, climate justice, and climate finance to the global agendas. I felt the pressure as some climate negotiations took over six hours and went onto 2:00 am, as everyone battled sleeplessness and exhaustion. 

At times, I also felt completely lost and unsure of what to do. One can't be a specialist in everything. But luckily, we had youth who focused on their piece of the climate pie. So, you learn a lot if you learn to listen. They have been doing this for years. We operated on copious amounts of coffee and German pretzels, and strategized on how to include children & youth perspectives in policy-making. After all, it is our futures on the line, but youth are not always invited to the room. Our concerns are often muted, despite calls for greater inclusivity. 

Figure 21 - Global Goal on Adaptation Negotiations (2025)

Figure 22 - Closing Plenary Bonn Climate Conference 

Figure 23 - Just Transition Protest 

Figure 24 - The UN Climate Negotiations Stalling

In the evening, I joined the youth climate activists in the Bonn Climate Camp, a series of community tents and workshops led by youth for youth. At the Bonn Climate Camp, we had lectures, attended community meals, and discussed strategies to influence policymakers and advocate for at-risk groups. I was also able to see Greta Thunberg, in-person. It is hard to describe how close I became to all the youth there. 

We had many sleepless nights, hard discussions, and stress. But more than that, we had a shared purpose and vision for the future. We needed a future where governments and societies act on climate change. Where we manage risks and disasters successfully. And where climate finance reaches those who need it most, inspired by the principles of climate justice, transparency, and fairness. 

Figure 25 - Greta Thunberg at Gaza and Climate Justice Protest (in Green)

Figure 26 - Bonn Climate Camp Workshop Tent

Figure 27 - Daily Post-Conference Lectures

Figure 28 - Dinner time in Bonn Climate Camp with Push Sweden

Figure 29 - Greenpeace Banner (2025)

By the end of the conference, we were able to have a bilateral meeting with the Vice-Chair of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and work on a partnership to communicate and train youth on climate science. The IPCC is an intergovernmental body of the UN and informs governments on the latest climate science and assessments. This informs how countries mitigate fossil fuel emissions, adapt to climate change, and prepare for impacts. The IPCC is the canary in the coal mine. 

Figure 30 - YOUNGO with the IPCC Vice-Chair Ladislaus Chang'a (2025)

Figure 31 - Talks with the Vice-Chair

In our negotiations, we proposed the creation of a risk communication strategy and toolkit on climate science and are in talks to have regional youth consultations and workshops with the IPCC. As climate impacts intensify, the regional impacts, risks, and vulnerabilities are magnified in scale, scope, and intensity. The climate crisis looks different if you are in North America, Europe, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, or the Middle East. 

Youth need to be trained on what to prepare for and how to communicate climate science to politicians, communities, and world leaders. We hope this is the first step to making this a reality, and co-creating a series of youth-led and IPCC workshops to train in climate science and policy. Stay tuned if we make any progress!!! 

By the end of the UN Bonn Climate Conference, I felt like I had finally made an impact after almost 7 years learning about and engaging in climate activism, policy, and negotiations. I was able to stand in the room with youth as we delivered interventions and advocated for our future and the futures of our children. It was humbling. It was exciting. And frustrating with the lack of willingness of some countries to address the legacies of colonialism, institutional racism, climate injustice, indigenous rights and knowledge, and youth priorities. But as they say, "the show must go on", so we have more work to do. 

Want to check out what all we did? You can see it through our online SB62 Book and Newsletter! Want to see the closing statement? Fast forward to 2 hours 22 minutes and 30 seconds into the Closing Plenary video below. 

Figure 32 - Climate Activists' Intervention at SB 62 (2025)

Figure 33 - Youth Intervention/Speech at UN Conference (2025). 

Fast Forward to 2 hours 22 minutes and 30 Seconds! 

Figure 34 - YOUNGO Climate Activists and I (2025) 

What is Next (2025 - ) 

In the fall, we will host the NYCCC conference in Stockholm. We hope to train many youth on how to be climate activists and engage in UNFCCC processes and negotiations. We will invite Nordic politicians, scientists, researchers, and NGOs to consider how we can improve climate action in the Nordic region. We hope this will be the foundation of an annual conference with support and funding from governments and the private sector. By the time of the conference, I will be living in Stockholm in a nice apartment for my internship. 

In August, I will start my internship with the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) as a visiting researcher and intern with the International Climate Risk and Adaptation unit. SEI is one of the best environmental and climate research institutes in the world. Low-key, I am a little obsessed with them. I have followed SEI for two years now, and have found them to be extremely helpful, brilliant, research extroverts. It is safe to say that their approach and concepts have transformed my view of climate risk and impacts. I have always wanted to be a researcher and, as some of you may know, I love my books. As an intern, I will work on numerous SEI projects and explore how climate risks cascade and transmit across international borders. But what do these look like? Let me show you. 

Figure 35 - Stockholm Environment Institute

Climate risks are not only physical. They impact shared natural resources, global finance, agri-food systems, energy systems, and trade routes. A climate disaster in Ukraine or India that impacts international grain shipments can lead to famine and malnutrition in import-dependent countries in East Africa. A climate disaster in the Asia-Pacific can disrupt global supply chains, and increase the cost of your iPhone and computer. Or in a more visceral way, repeated climate disasters can lead to climate-induced migration and displacement within countries and between regions. We must start approaching the climate crisis through a regional lens and regional frameworks based on shared risk management, cooperation, and risk ownership. 

Figure 36 - Cascading Climate Risks Map

Do you remember the wildfires in Canada in 2023, which turned the skies orange in New York? Well, that, too, is a cross-border climate risk. Air pollution from Canada led to respiratory illnesses and smog across the United States. This is our shared future. Climate change respects no borders. We must work together and learn from each other on how to manage these risks. Otherwise, more orange skies are in our future. It will move beyond San Francisco and New York. It always does. 

Figure 37 - New York Skies in Canada (2023)

A Seven-Year Reflection (2018-2025) 

In the past 7 years, since I embarked on a journey to understand the climate crisis, I have had the privilege to learn from amazing and inspiring individuals across the Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East. What began in Arkansas has now extended to a global journey. I have tried my best to listen and to learn. Correct where I have been wrong. And always, always be curious. Many take climate action because of their faith, their sense of justice, their desire for safety, their community, their way of life, their ancestral traditions, their family, their children, and their environment. The reasons are plenty. Yet future generations will have to inherit our decisions and the world we create. In this, our actions are something of infinite potential and possibilities. 

I have tried my best to understand our shared stories and future to know what we need to prepare for. Each face. Each conversation. Each worry for the future. Each friendship was created with a shared purpose. This has motivated me to continue, even when times are hard. We must not give up, even when the world becomes darker and full of wars, pandemics, authoritarianism, and shocks. Because within all of us is a spark to be good, to do good, and create a future worth living for. We just have to protect what we love and keep the faith.  

As a Rotary Global Grant scholar for the Environment, it is my ardent belief that we can change things for the better. It is the responsibility of every Rotarian to protect the environment and take part in climate action. I believe that Rotary can have an impact through its networks, communities, and beliefs. I am happy to learn more about how I can help Rotary deliver on its areas of action and learn from Rotarians around the world about their experience of the climate crisis. 

As fate would have it, my old UN boss and mentor, Elliott Harris, has joined Rotary after our many conversations about how Rotary can be a force of good. He has since joined the Rotary Club of Las Vegas and expressed how much it gives his retirement some purpose.  

Figure 38 - Rotary's Goal on Environment

Figure 39 - Elliott Harris at the Rotary Club of Las Vegas (2025)

Big dreams often have humble beginnings. Life often happens in circles. As I reflect on my own journey, I started with climate activism in Arkansas and now work on global policies, research, and negotiations. I have learned from different cultures, regions, and institutions. I also learned the importance of having a spiritual basis, connecting to nature, and having a sense of beloved community. Some might even call it "Fat Soulhood" or Open Horizons. Thank you, Jay McDaniel, for those years at Hendrix and all our conversations. 

And yet, every conversation I have, when they ask me where I am from, I proudly say Arkansas and show them on a map where it is. I remind them not to discount us who are from the American South. Because one day we will be sitting with you at the UN. We will be joining you for coffee and sharing laughter with you. We will share in your anxieties and negotiate with you. We will advocate for a shared future with you. And when you stop by in the heat of the summer, we will greet you with a glass of sweet tea. 

Thank you for supporting me in this goal and dream. When times are most challenging, I watch these two videos that inspire me in this work. They are short, but inspirational. I hope they can inspire you too. See you soon for the next blog. 

Want to know how to get involved or where to get started? Feel free to message me on Facebook or send me an email at normantristanhendrix@gmail.com. 

I have had numerous mentors I would like to thank over the years. Special thank you to Sophia Said, William Haden Chomphosy, Elliott Harris, Jay McDaniel, Anne Goldberg, Stella Capek, Nancy Allen, Amanda Moore, Jim Rush, Jean Gordon, and others for your mentorship, friendship, and listening to my random rants. 

Figure 40 - And Still I Rise 

Figure 41 - A Love Story for Climate Change