Pay up, 17-year-old climate activist tells rich countries

Javea Estavillo, the Philippines' youth delegate to the recent climate change conference in Dubai, delivered a speech calling for developed nations to compensate smaller countries for damage caused by climate change. 

Raised in Pasig and bound for Stanford University, Javea shares with Howie Severino her impressions of being one of the youngest among tens of thousands of attendees in Dubai. While noting the "small steps" that gave her hope, she acknowledged feeling annoyed by the adults in the room who "kept talking and talking, and a lot of the time I'm sitting there, like, 'Yeah, you're saying that but you're not going to change.'"

Before representing the country's youth, Javea spent time on a remote island in Mindanao without electricity getting to know young people there. Afterwards, she helped raise money for solar panels for the community. 

At Stanford, she intends to study climate science on the road to becoming an environmental lawyer. "Hopefully in the future I'll participate in climate negotiations as a delegate instead of a youth delegate”.

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Producer: Aubrey Delos Reyes

Researcher: Lilian Tiburcio

Editor: Jayr Magtoto

Speech file courtesy of Atty. Antonio La Viña 

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