Know why Uttarakhand’s 11-year old Ridhima Pandey is so special!

Riddhima Pandey, an 11-year old from Uttarakhand is one of the 16 pre-teen petitioners against government inaction to prevent the climate crisis. She spoke at the UN today, expressing a strong inclination to save the planet; protesting inaction from the governments towards the environment.

After Uttarakhand floods, Riddhima, moved by the plight of the environment, in 2017 filed a complaint against the government to protest the inaction of the Centre towards any litigation for the environment. Her demands to the court were to order the government to assess industrial projects for climate-related issues, prepare a “carbon budget” to limit carbon dioxide emissions, and create a national climate recovery plan.

Rahul Chowdhary, the lawyer who represented Riddhima at the National Green Tribunal, said she is very aware for her age.

“For someone so young, she is very aware of the issue of climate change, and she is very concerned about how it will impact her in future,” he said. “She wanted to do something that can have a meaningful effect, and we suggested she could file a petition against the government,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.