September 15, 2026

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By Jeremy Wright

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• Climate protests declined since 2019, reflecting shifting strategies and priorities.

• Leading climate activists expand focus beyond environmental issues since the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Notable figures, including Greta Thunberg and Vanessa Nakate, advocate for broader humanitarian causes such as human rights and global justice.

• Activists now address interconnected crises, highlighting the need for solutions that span climate, humanitarian, and geopolitical challenges.

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Greta Thunberg, Vanessa Nakate, Luisa Neubauer, and Xiye Bastida are young climate activists who have devoted years of their lives to advocating for environmental protections and climate action. Their work has not only caught the eye of those at every level of society, but they have also inspired people around the world while motivating real policy change. 

 

There has been a shift away from climate change protests since the Covid-19 lockdowns brought strict restrictions on social gatherings, and the following international chaos that is still sweeping the globe. The changes to modern climate activism are visible not only in the declining number of protests since their peak in 2019, but also in the evolving priorities of the movement’s most recognizable leaders.

 

Many of the young activists who helped define the climate movement between 2018 and 2020 have found themselves pulled into a wider landscape of crises and geopolitical chaos that require urgent and immediate attention. There also seems to be a general broadening of visions about what climate justice truly entails. Looking at the evolving and expanding priorities of these once-prominent climate change protestors offers a window into how activism itself is changing in a post-pandemic era defined by overlapping crises and global instability. 

So, what are these climate leaders up to now?

 

Greta Thunberg: From Climate Leadership to Humanitarian Action in Gaza 

 

Greta Thunberg is a Swedish activist named the 2019 Time Magazine Person of the Year for the media attention she received for her environmental advocacy. Much of this coverage focused on her work with Fridays for Future and their organization of the largest climate change protest in history, Global Week for the Future. 

 

Once the face of a generation demanding climate action, Thunberg has recently devoted a significant amount of her time and attention to the crimes against humanity in Gaza. Her social media presence and public appearances reflect a broader focus on human rights and global justice, truly illustrating how even the most iconic climate voices have expanded their activism in response to the world’s cascading emergencies. Searching The BBC website for Greta Thunberg returns 10 pages worth of results that date back to 2021, with all articles published since early 2024 being directly related to her protesting Israeli war crimes in Palestine and her humanitarian efforts in Gaza. 

 

Although she has focused most of her activism and social media presence on Gaza with movements such as Disarm Genocide, she is still active in the climate space with posts and appearances for causes such as United Against Fossil Fuels and her lawsuit against the Swedish government for its lack of climate action. Thunberg’s shift is a prime example of how interconnected the modern world is and that fixing one problem often requires providing solutions to others.

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Vanessa Nakate: From Climate Advocate to Humanitarian Organizer

 

Ugandan activist Vanessa Nakate first gained international attention for her climate advocacy in Kampala, Uganda, where she highlighted the disproportionate impact of rising temperatures, drought, and flooding on vulnerable communities. Her early work centred on climate justice, renewable energy access, and the need for global accountability. Nakate earned international attention after her comments to reporters were not published and she was cropped out of a photo with four White activists at a press conference in Davos in 2020. The erasure of Vanessa from this event rightfully drew ire around the world, which greatly expanded the reach of her voice and the impact of her activism.

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In recent years, Nakate’s activism has broadened in response to escalating humanitarian crises across the Horn of Africa. As conflict, displacement, and food insecurity intensify, she has increasingly focused on the immediate needs of communities facing overlapping environmental and political emergencies. In her many impressive roles as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, member of the UN Youth Office, board member at Global Witness, and a founder or co-founder of the Vash Green Schools Project in Kampala and the Rise Up Movement, Nakate has helped many individuals and communities in Africa.

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Nakate’s efforts now support school infrastructure, solar installations, refugee assistance, and women’s empowerment initiatives, reflecting an understanding that climate justice cannot be separated from social and economic instability. For many communities, the climate crisis is not a distant threat, but a lived reality intertwined with conflict, poverty, and displacement. Nakate’s broadened focus shows how activists are adapting their work to meet the urgent needs of people whose lives are shaped by multiple, simultaneous crises.

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Luisa Neubauer: From Climate Strikes to Anti-War Mobilization

 

In Germany, Luisa Neubauer emerged as one of the most recognizable leaders of Fridays for Future, helping organize mass climate strikes that mobilized millions across Europe. The majority of her activism focuses on emission reductions, fossil-fuel phaseouts, and holding European governments accountable to their climate commitments. However, since 2022, Neubauer has not only been advocating for climate action but has expanded her focus to include emphasis on how our fossil fuel reliance is one of the reasons for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

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The outbreak of the war in Ukraine reshaped the political landscape in which Neubauer worked. As European governments scrambled to secure emergency energy supplies, reopen coal plants, and reorient foreign policy around national security, Neubauer’s advocacy expanded to address the humanitarian and geopolitical consequences of conflict. For example, she co-wrote an article for the Guardian urging governments to resist using the conflict as an excuse to expand fossil fuel use and to keep their climate commitments.

 

Neubauer’s shift is much less drastic than activists like Thunberg, but there is no doubt the European conflict has expanded the ways in which she discusses climate change. Neubauer’s wider vision emphasizes a broader reality facing European climate activists: The war continues to expose how deeply energy systems are tied into political stability and autocratic threats to democracy.

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Xiye Bastida: From Climate Justice to Intersectional Social Justice

 

Mexican-Chilean activist and storyteller Xiye Bastida became a leading voice in the global climate movement through her work with Fridays for Future and her emphasis on Indigenous leadership in climate solutions. Her activism was originally motivated by an environmental disaster in her hometown and has grown into one of the most prominent voices for climate justice. In 2026, Bastida was named on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for Social Impact.

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In recent years, Bastida has gone beyond protesting to include a broader range of social-justice initiatives that include Indigenous rights, racial equity, migrant justice, and water access. She has been active in campaigns supporting communities facing displacement, environmental racism, and resource scarcity. A very notable endeavour is her work co-founding and directing the Re-Earth Initiative, an organization that works to address climate change “by empowering communities with knowledge, resources, and regenerative practices.”

 

She is also currently working on a film titled The Way of the Whale.

 

Bastida, widening her scope from organizing protests to founding and managing international organizations that address issues caused by environmental degradation, is a perfect example of the growing recognition among young activists that climate justice is inseparable from social justice and requires very complex solutions. In a world where extreme weather, political instability, and economic inequality reinforce one another, her activism has naturally broadened to address the full spectrum of realities faced by marginalized communities, demonstrating how climate advocacy increasingly intersects with movements for human rights and community resilience.

 

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A Movement Reshaped by Crises

 

These examples do not suggest that climate activists have abandoned their cause. Rather, they illustrate how activism evolves over time and in response to geopolitical events. When pandemics, armed conflict, and humanitarian crises dominate public consciousness, activists respond to the most immediate threats while expanding their advocacy to address the growing complexities caused by changing contexts.

 

Climate change remains a central concern for these activists, but their advocacy has evolved with the ever-shifting geopolitical atmosphere that we’re all currently trying to live through.

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What Happens Next?

 

It is reasonable to expect that climate activism will remain somewhat subdued until geopolitical tensions ease and economic pressures become more manageable. People tend to prioritize immediate survival and security over long‑term threats, even when those threats are existential and knocking on our door. However, the current state of global instability is temporary and may also create opportunities. For example, the current conflict in Iran started when the US attacked in February 2026 and has made the over-reliance on fossil fuels painfully obvious. Due to the war, energy prices have skyrocketed everywhere. Oil shortages have already begun to hit nations that rely on imported oil and are forecast to worsen the longer the conflict continues. Over 60% of Southeast Asia gets its oil through the Strait of Hormuz in Iran, and so the closure caused by the war is hitting them much harder than other regions. Although many are reverting to more polluting sources of energy as an emergency measure, this reality has also pushed some countries, corporations, and individuals to try to diversify their energy sources. Hopefully, toward more renewable forms that are less impacted by geopolitical instability caused by fossil fuel dependence.

 

The energy shocks triggered by ongoing conflicts continue to provide ammunition for those seeking real, tangible change, given the havoc caused by a few decisions made by a few world leaders. Hopefully we’ll get the change Greta Thunberg, Vanessa Nakate, Luisa Neubauer, and Xiye Bastida have been fighting for when the dust finally settles, and decision makers are able to be proactive as we move into the future instead of reacting to immediate military and energy-based threats.  

 

Although the current war in Iran has many implications for the climate and human rights, none of the climate activists we’ve talked about here have been involved in protesting the conflict. Not to worry, though. They have not been silent on the issue, and plenty of other protesters have taken action against the war in Iran, but the heroes of our story are busy fighting other battles.

 

Climate protests have effectively stopped since the world shut down in 2020, and the leaders of the climate movement have been absent from current demonstrations against the most recent military conflict in Iran, but that does not mean they have stopped fighting for a sustainable future. It just means they are learning, growing, and doing their best to make meaningful change in a wider array of societal issues and humanitarian crises that require immediate attention.

 

So, let’s do our part and continue to focus on the science of sustainability while keeping the pressure on our politicians to prioritize the future of the planet and everything that lives here.

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References

 

Greta Thunberg:

BBC. (2026). Greta Thunberg. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/topics/cwmrxq94v1jt?page=1 

Brittanica. (2026). Greta Thunberg. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Greta-Thunberg 

Disarm Genocide. (2026). Disarm Genocide: Shut Down the Ports. Stand with Palestine. https://chuffed.org/project/disarmgenocide?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQPOTM2NjE5NzQzMzkyNDU5AAGnU_wG01TFjo3zap5Em6E_tDan-5TiQ7PdkLv3TPahx813fV22JIVsz4Tm27Q_aem_M-LetGkVUltcfyvv6jdkSQ&utm_id=97760_v0_s00_e0_tv3 

Felsenthal, E. (2019). Greta Thunberg: TIME Person of the Year 2019. TIME Magazine. https://time.com/5748136/greta-thunberg-person-of-the-year-2019/ 

Reuters. (2025, February 19). Sweden’s Top Court Rejects Greta Thunberg Lawsuit on Climate Action. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/swedish-supreme-court-says-activists-can-not-sue-state-over-climate-action-2025-02-19/ 

 

Vanessa Nakate:

Evelyn, K. (2020, January 29). 'Like I Wasn't There': Climate Activist Vanessa Nakate on Being Erased from a Movement. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/29/vanessa-nakate-interview-climate-activism-cropped-photo-davos 

Global Witness. (2026). About Us. https://globalwitness.org/en/about-us/ 

TED. (2026). Vanessa Nakate: Climate Justice Advocate. https://www.ted.com/speakers/vanessa_nakate  

UNESCO. (2024). Vash Green Schools Project. https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/vash-green-schools-project 

UNICEF. (2026). Vanessa Nakate: UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Since 2022. https://www.unicef.org/goodwill-ambassadors/vanessa-nakate 

United Nations. (2026). Vanessa Nakate. https://www.un.org/youthaffairs/en/vanessa-nakate 

Women’s Voices Now. (2026). Vanessa Nakate: The Woman Who Amplified Africa's Voice in Climate Justice. https://www.womensvoicesnow.org/vanessa-nakate

 

Luisa Neubauer:

Harvard Centre for European Studies. (2024). Luisa Neubauer: John F. Kennedy Memorial Policy Fellow. https://ces.fas.harvard.edu/people/luisa-neubauer 

Romanko, S., McKibben, B., & Naubauer, L. (2024, January 14). The Ukraine War is No Excuse for Endless Fossil Fuels Expansion. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/jan/14/ukraine-war-fossil-fuel-expansion 

Simon, C. (2022, March 1). Link Between Ukraine Fighting, Fossil Fuels. The Harvard Gazette. https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2022/03/link-between-ukraine-fighting-fossil-fuels/ 

 

Xiya Bastida:

Re-Earth Initiative. (2026). Our Story. https://reearthin.org/our-story 

Re-Earth Initiative. (2026). The Way of the Whale. https://thewayofthewhale.film/ 

Xiya Bastida. (2026). About Xiye. https://www.xiyebeara.com/ 

 

Iran War:

Al Jazeera. (2026). Climate Activist Greta Thunberg Slams Trump’s Threats Against Iran. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/8/climate-activist-greta-thunberg-slams-trumps-threats-against-iran

Kurlantzick, J. (2026, June 23). The Iran War Turned Asia’s Fragile Energy Dependence into an Emergency. https://www.cfr.org/articles/the-iran-war-turned-asias-fragile-energy-dependence-into-an-emergency