Ridhima Pandey

Ridhima Pandey (born in october 2007) is an Indian environmental activist who advocates for action against climate change. She has been likened to Greta Thunberg. When she was nine years old, she filed a suit against the Indian government for not taking enough steps to combat climate change.

Background

Pandey lives in Haridwar, Uttarakhand, a state in the North of India. She is daughter of Dinesh Chandra Pandey who works in Wildlife Trust India who is an environmentalist and has worked in Uttarakhand in this capacity for 16 years and her mother is Vinita Pandey who works for Forest Department for Uttarakhand.

Her interest in climate change started when Pandey's home of Uttarakhand had been affected by severe weather over the past three years and in 2013, over 1000 people died in cause of floods and landslides. Almost 100,000 people had to be evacuated from the region. According to World Bank, climate change is likely to increase pressure on the water supply in India.

She has stated that her activism was motivated by seeing the impact of the 2013 Uttarakhand floods.

Activism

Legal action against the Indian government At age nine, Pandey filed a lawsuit 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 court case was presented in the National Green Tribunal (NGT), a court which was established in 2010 that deals solely with environmental cases. The petition argued that the Public Trust Doctrine, India's commitments under the Paris Agreement, and existing Environmental laws obligated stronger measures to mitigate climate change. Although the petition was ultimately dismissed, it brought significant attention to the climate crisis in India.

Pandey 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. On September 23, 2019, she was one of 16 child activists, including Greta Thunberg, Catarina Lorenzo, Chiara Sacchi and Iris Duquesne, who filed a complaint with the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child against Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, and Turkey. The complaint alleged these countries violated child rights by failing to address the climate crisis adequately, under the Third Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, a voluntary mechanism allowing children to appeal for rights violations. The group argued that these nations' inadequate climate policies infringed on their rights to life, health, and culture by exacerbating global warming.

The legal action was supported by the law firm Hausfeld and Earthjustice. The committee acknowledged the complaint in October 2021, but ruled it inadmissible due to jurisdictional limits. The strike took place on September 20, aligning with the Global Week for Future, a series of protests from September 20–27 that preceded the UN Climate Action Summit on September 23 in New York. Pandey led hundreds of youth to protest and demand urgent climate action from the Indian government, focusing on issues like rising temperatures, deforestation, and extreme weather events. The event, held on October 9–10 at Skur 13, an old warehouse on Oslo's docks, convened over 500 mission-driven leaders from business, academia, arts, and activism to rethink growth models amid climate and social challenges, as part of Xynteo's platform launched in 2017 to foster collaborative solutions. Pandey's session, part of the "Square" forum—a central stage for challenging beliefs and inspiring action—focused on activism in the social media age and generational divides, with her urging older generations to act decisively rather than leave youth to bear the burden and passionately declaring:People know what the issue is: climate change. And it's being ignored. Why do kids have to suffer for others' ignorance? This makes me very angry. Her appeal, delivered via a widely circulated video statement on September 3, 2019, urged Modi to "stop the cutting of Aarey forests and release those protesting," aligning with a broader citizens' movement that included environmentalists, students, and local Adivasi communities who depend on the forest for their livelihood. Pandey's action came amid escalating protests following the Bombay High Court's October 4 dismissal of petitions to declare Aarey a forest or stop the tree-cutting, prompting MMRCL to begin felling trees that night, with over 2,141 cut by October 5, 2019, before the Supreme Court intervened on October 7, ordering a status quo after a law student's letter-turned-PIL, halting further cuts and releasing 29 detained activists. Her appeal gained traction as part of the #SaveAareyForest campaign, which saw support from figures like Aaditya Thackeray and international attention via social media, highlighting urban deforestation tensions.

Letter to Prime Minister Modi on air pollution On September 7, 2020, the first International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies, Ridhima Pandey wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling for urgent action against air pollution in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai, where air quality often reaches hazardous levels. She highlighted the health risks to children and the elderly, stating in the letter:I worry if a 12-year-old like me finds it hard to breathe, what it must be like for babies. In a January 2025 interview, she reflected on this effort, saying, "I wrote to the PM because clean air isn't just a wish—it's a right we're losing every day," emphasizing her ongoing commitment.

Further activism In September 2019, Pandey led a climate strike under the FridaysForFuture in Dehradun and also became a speaker for Xynteo Exchange at the same month in Norway with Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen. Pandey came back dealing with Indian government when she make an appeal to Narendra Modi to stop a plan to chop Aarey forest to build a metro car shed project

Pandey 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. Inspired by Delhi's severe air pollution—where the Air Quality Index (AQI) often exceeded 300, classified as "hazardous" and the lockdown's temporary relief, with AQI dropping to 150 in some areas, Pandey aimed to ensure sustained clean air post-lockdown, rallying support with the slogan "Clean air is our right!" The campaign, launched virtually due to pandemic restrictions, involved over 50 celebrities, activists, and citizens, including actor Dia Mirza and singer Shaan, who held placards reading "SaalBhar60" and shared photos on social media, tagging government agencies like the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to pressure for policy action. This petition, presented during a period of heightened global attention on climate change ahead of COP26 in Glasgow, emphasized the urgent need for systemic, coordinated international action to address escalating climate impacts, particularly on vulnerable populations such as children in developing nations like India.

Pandey, then 13, highlighted the disproportionate burden faced by youth, stating in an interview:We are the ones who will inherit this planet, yet we have no say in how it's being destroyed. It's unfair that our future is slipping away because of decisions made by those who won't live to see the consequences, and we're left fighting for a world that should already be ours to protect. The petition called for immediate resource mobilization, enhanced climate finance for adaptation, and recognition of the crisis as a threat to human rights, drawing on the UN's own frameworks like the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Federation of Asian Bishops' Conference In October 2022, Ridhima Pandey, then 15 years old, delivered a speech at the 50th General Conference of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC), held from October 12–30 at the Baan Phu Waan Pastoral Centre in Bangkok, Thailand, marking the FABC's golden jubilee since its founding in 1970. Pandey, invited as a youth climate advocate, addressed the assembly on October 18 during a session focused on ecological justice, sharing her experiences of climate-induced disasters in Uttarakhand, such as the 2013 floods and recurring forest fires, and criticizing older generations for inaction, stating:I do not want my generation to suffer because adults failed to act when they had the chance. As a featured advocate, she narrated her climate journey in a short segment, encouraging young viewers to take action, aligning with the campaign’s “Redrawing India” initiative.

Media appearances

Generation Greta (2020) Ridhima Pandey was featured in Generation Greta, a 2020 documentary directed by Johan Boulanger, released on March 8, 2020, by Java Films, exploring the lives of nine young female climate activists.

The Letter: A Message for Our Earth (2022) In 2022, Ridhima Pandey, then 15, was featured in The Letter: A Message for Our Earth, a documentary produced by Oscar-winning Off the Fence Productions, directed by Nicolas Brown, and co-produced with the Laudato Si' Movement and the Vatican, released as a YouTube Original on October 4, 2022. The film, inspired by Pope Francis's 2015 encyclical Laudato Si', follows Pandey and four other environmental leaders—representing youth, the poor, Indigenous peoples, and wildlife—from India, Senegal, Brazil, and Hawaii, as they travel to Rome for a dialogue with Pope Francis about the climate crisis. Pandey, representing the voice of youth, shared her experiences of climate impacts in Uttarakhand, including floods and forest fires, emphasizing the urgency of intergenerational action in a meeting filmed at the Vatican. Screened at World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon to an estimated 1.5 million attendees.

One for Change season 3 (2023) In 2023, Ridhima Pandey was featured in One for Change season 3, a short-film series by National Geographic India and Disney Star, as part of an Earth Day initiative highlighting young environmental changemakers. The series, which aired across National Geographic and Disney Star entertainment channels, showcased Pandey's advocacy for climate justice, including her 2017 lawsuit against the Indian government and her role in global youth-led climate movements such as the 2019 UN complaint against nations failing to address the climate crisis. The campaign aimed to inspire viewers to adopt sustainable practices, with Pandey emphasizing the urgency of holding leaders accountable: These decisions involve my future, so I must have a say. She also received a Mother Teresa Memorial Award for Social Justice on 16 December 2021 in New Delhi.