At 27, Ayisha Siddiqa has established herself as a prominent advocate for climate justice and human rights, focusing particularly on the intersections of environmental harm and social inequality. Born in Pakistan and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Siddiqa draws on her personal experience to highlight the disproportionate impact of climate change on Indigenous communities and women, groups she says face heightened risks from flooding and other environmental disasters.

Siddiqa’s engagement with climate activism began at 14, after witnessing the tangible effects of pollution on her family in Pakistan, where contaminated river water led to illness. This early exposure to environmental injustice spurred her commitment to the global climate movement. In 2019, while attending university, she founded the campus chapter of Extinction Rebellion and played a key role in organizing a mass climate strike that attracted around 300,000 participants.

Building on this momentum, Siddiqa co-founded Polluters Out in 2020, a youth-led global movement aimed at holding fossil fuel companies accountable for their contributions to the climate crisis. She also helped develop the Fossil Free University, an activist training program designed to empower young leaders with the skills needed to advocate for systemic change.

In addition to grassroots organizing, Siddiqa has taken on advisory and diplomatic roles at the international level. She serves as a climate advisor to the United Nations Secretary-General and acts as a UN youth envoy, where she works to integrate youth perspectives into global climate policy discussions. This summer, she gained experience in international law through an internship at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, further preparing herself to confront climate issues through legal avenues.

Currently studying law at the University of California, Los Angeles, Siddiqa aims to combine her legal education with her activist background to pursue climate litigation, expanding her efforts beyond street protests to courtroom advocacy. Her work underscores the importance of inclusive solutions that address the needs of countries and communities most affected by climate change, challenging approaches that are primarily shaped by perspectives from the global North.