A letter written in 1920 from a grandfather to his newborn grandson

Liverpool, Christmas, 1920

Delivered by a 15-year-old activist at a global climate summit.

I come to you today not as a leader or expert, but as a concerned citizen, as a young person who looks at the world with both wonder and worry. I am only a child, yet I understand that the decisions made in rooms like this affect the lives of billions. I may be small, but I carry the voice of many who are not here—children who drink polluted water, who walk miles for food, who breathe air filled with smoke. I speak for them, and for all of us.

We learn in school that the Earth is our home, that we should take care of it. We are taught to clean up after ourselves, to share, to be kind. Yet the adults who make the rules seem to forget these simple lessons. You talk about economic growth, national interest, and short-term policies. But what about the forests that are burning? The animals going extinct? The people who have lost their homes to floods and storms caused by climate change?

In my short life, I have already seen landscapes change. I’ve watched documentaries of glaciers melting and coral reefs dying. I have read about farmers losing their crops and families forced to flee their countries because the land no longer feeds them.

And still, so many leaders debate whether climate change is real. I ask you: if you were watching your own home sink underwater, would you wait for more data?

This is not just about science or politics. This is about survival. You say you want a better future for your children, yet the planet we are inheriting is broken. You say you believe in fairness, yet it is the poorest who suffer the most. We are tired of waiting. We are tired of empty promises. We need action—now.

I do not have all the answers. I cannot give you a solution that fits every country, every economy, every problem. But I can tell you what we need: courage. The courage to put people before profit. The courage to listen to scientists. The courage to act not because it is easy or popular, but because it is right.

Some say I should enjoy my childhood instead of worrying about things like global warming. But how can I enjoy my childhood when I know that forests are being cut down to make room for shopping malls? How can I relax when I know that children just like me are going to bed hungry, or living in places where the air is too toxic to breathe?

My generation has not created these problems, but we are expected to solve them. We are told we are the future, but that future is being destroyed before we can even reach it. Do not underestimate us. We are aware, we are organized, and we are rising. You may have the power today, but tomorrow it will be ours. And we will remember who stood with us—and who did not.

So I ask you, not as an opponent but as a fellow human being: what legacy do you want to leave? Do you want to be remembered as the leaders who delayed until it was too late, or as the ones who chose to act with wisdom and compassion? The choice is yours. And the time is now.

Letter: For the Road Ahead