Teen activist dubbed ‘Australia’s Greta Thunberg’ steps up climate fight against PM Scott Morrison’s inaction

Izzy Raj-Seppings has become one of Australia’s most prominent environmental activists since staring down police at a 2019 protest

The 14-year-old led thousands of fellow students in a ‘School Strike 4 Climate’ march through Sydney last month and is among teens suing the federal government

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Izzy Raj-Seppings leads a ‘School Strike 4 Climate’ march with fellow youth organisers to demand action on climate change in Sydney on May 21. Photo: Reuters

Published: 11:22am, 1 Jun 2021Updated: 11:23am, 1 Jun 2021

Leading thousands of protest marchers through central Sydney and joining a landmark class action lawsuit are not usual activities for most 14-year-olds.

But Australian student Izzy Raj-Seppings has abandoned more frivolous extracurricular activities in favour of stepping up pressure on the country’s leadership to battle climate change.

Raj-Seppings has become one of the country’s most prominent environmental activists since her tear-stained face made global headlines in late 2019 when she stared down riot police threatening to arrest her outside the prime minister’s home.

Izzy Raj-Seppings, centre, helps organise a “School Strike 4 Climate” rally to demand action on climate change in Sydney on May 21. Photo: Reuters

“I think a lot of people look at us and just say, ‘oh, they’re kids, they don’t know what they’re talking about,” she said in an interview on April 6. “But I think they are underestimating us and they don’t realise how powerful we are and how much work we’re putting in. We’re listening to scientists who have been trying to get people’s attentions for generations and people haven’t been listening to them about climate change.”

Australia is the highest per capita carbon emitter among the world’s richest nations and, according to Raj-Seppings, Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s inaction on climate change shows the need for a change in leadership.

Her brush with police in 2019 came when the then 13-year-old joined angry protesters outside Morrison’s official residence in Sydney in the wake of devastating bush fires – her first protest. The incident saw Raj-Seppings dubbed “Australia’s Greta Thunberg” by local media.