Ridhima Pandey
Ridhima Pandey (born 2009) is an activist from India who campaigns for action against climate change. She has been likened to Greta Thunberg.[1]
Background
Pandley lives in Uttarakhand, a state in the North of India. Her father, Dinesh Pandley, is also a climate activist who has worked in Uttarkhand in this capacity for 16 years.[2]
Pandley’s home of Uttarakhand has been affected by severe weather over the past ten years. In 2013, over 1000 people died in floods and landslides[3]. Almost 100, 000 people had to be evacuated from the region.[4]
According to World Bank, climate change is likely to increase pressure on the water supply in India.[5]
Climate activism
Legal Action against the Indian Government
At age nine, Pandley filed a suit against the Indian Government on the basis that they had not taken the significant steps against climate change that they had agreed to in the Paris Agreement. This courtcase was presented in the National Green Tribunal (NGT), a court which was established in 2010 that deals solely with environmental cases. Pandley also asked the Government to prepare a plan to reduce carbon emissions and a nationwide plan to curb the impact of climate change, including reducing India’s use of fossil fuels.[2]
In an interview with The Independent. Pandley states:
“My Government has failed to take steps to regulate and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which are causing extreme climate conditions. This will impact both me and future generations. My country has huge potential to reduce the use of fossil fuels, and because of the Government’s inaction I approached the National Green Tribunal.”[2]
The NGT dismissed her petition, stating that it was ‘covered under the environment pact assessment’.[1]
Complaint to the United Nations
On 23 September 2019 Pandey filed with 15 other children, including Greta Thunberg, Ayakha Melithafa and Alexandria Villaseñor, a complaint to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, accusing Argentina, Brazil, Germany, France and Turkey to violate the Convention on the Rights of the Child by failing to address the climate crisis adequately.[6] [7]
Further Activism
Pandley has called for a complete ban on plastic, arguing that its continued production is the result of consumer demand. She has also called for the Indian government and local authorities to do more to clean the Ganga River.[1]
Pandley is quoted on her biography on Children vs Climate Change as stating her aim:
“I want to save our future. I want to save the future of all the children and all people of future generations”[8]
References
- ^ a b c "WHO IS RIDHIMA PANDEY". Business Standard India. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
- ^ a b c "Meet the nine-year-old girl who is suing the Indian Government over climate change". The Independent. 2017-04-01. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
- ^ Press, Associated (2013-06-24). "India's death toll in aftermath of floods reaches 1,000". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
- ^ "Many still stranded in India floods". BBC News. 2013-06-28. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
- ^ "India: Climate Change Impacts". World Bank. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
- ^ "#ChildrenVsClimateCrisis". childrenvsclimatecrisis.org. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
- ^ "earthjustice.org". Retrieved 2020-04-26.
- ^ "#ChildrenVsClimateCrisis". childrenvsclimatecrisis.org. Retrieved 2020-04-23.