Born in 2002, Keyra Juliana Espinoza is a young Ecuadorian-American climate activist who grew up in New York City. Espinoza has done work with Polluters Out and El Cambio en Ecuador, and uses her platform to advocate for BIPOC rights and the environment.
“My motherland Ecuador doesn’t really get much attention when it comes to the impact the climate crisis has on vulnerable communities and there is very little education [or] action being taken even within the country,” Esponiza told Green Matters in an interview a few years back. “People should care about protecting the planet because they should put themselves in the shoes of the persecuted, of the silenced, of the defenders and realize that they are also human like us, we are humans that empathize when others are hurt and suffering.”
This article has been updated.