When Aishath Thoifa saw the devastation left behind by the 2004 tsunami, she knew she had to do something.
Eleven years on, the 29-year-old from the Maldives is in Paris fighting for climate change action on behalf of her country's youth.
While tsunamis aren't caused by climate change, Ms Thoifa says their destructive impact is worsened by rising sea levels.
She vividly remembers the devastating day the tsunami struck in 2004 but still finds it hard to express.
"You would see the waves coming up, it caused major damage to the lives of many people," she told AAP on Thursday.
"Some of my friends lost their loved ones."
The Maldives sits just over a metre above sea level and suffers from increasing flooding from high tides and heavy rainfall.
Ms Thofia is at the United Nations climate change summit as part of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts - the largest girls movement in the world.
"Girls and young women are much more disadvantaged than others," she said.
"At times of disasters, at times when the impact hits, the discrimination escalates."
She fears a time when she will have to leave her home.
"It's a big fear for many of us that we may have to relocate ourselves," she said.
"That's not something we want to do. We have history and we want to preserve it."
Ms Thoifa is one of hundreds of young people from around the world in Paris pushing for a strong international agreement to curb emissions and limit global warming.
Australian youth delegate Rachel Lynskey, 23, felt compelled to come to the summit after watching the failure of the Copenhagen talks in 2009.
"I remember sitting with my parents talking about climate change and this big conference and how it was all going to be solved and they were going to reach this agreement," she told AAP.
"And then they didn't and it was so heartbreaking and disappointing."
Fellow Australian Youth Climate Coalition member Jaden Harris, 20, said young people had a lot at stake in the climate change debate.
"If we don't take action now we'll be the ones who have to clean up the mess," he told AAP.
The Australia youth delegation took their concerns directly to Environment Minister Greg Hunt in Paris and convinced him to sign a declaration committing to do what it takes to ensure the survival of all countries.
Hong Kong youth delegate Alvin Kan managed to get China to do the same.
"I'm so excited," he told AAP.
He believes China has a responsibility to act for the sake of the world and his own crowded city, to stop the summers getting hotter and the winters getting colder.
"It's not just affecting the Pacific Islands, it's happening everywhere, it's affecting our daily lives," he said.
Share
