Sophia Kianni on empowering ‘imperfect activists’

Climate Cardinals founder Sophia Kianni urges everyone to get
involved in climate activism. Even small gestures, Sophia says, can go a long way.

Sophia Kianni is an Iranian-American climate activist, and the founder and executive director of international nonprofit Climate Cardinals. Sophia has been heavily involved in grassroots organising with groups including Fridays for
Future, Extinction Rebellion and Zero Hour.

In 2019, Sophia helped mobilise more than six million people to take to the streets as part of the Fridays for Future protests, leading to international media coverage and significant progress in raising awareness about climate change.

“This was particularly significant, because it was the first time that
we had been able to mobilise people to the same degree as the
[US] civil rights movement or the women’s suffrage era. And it’s
really rooted in the philosophy that nonviolent civil disobedience
is what is needed to get world leaders to feel pressure,” explained
Sophia.

Everyone has a role to play in climate activism

One of Sophia’s key motives as a climate activist is moving people from apathy to action.

While many understand that climate change is an emergency, they may not feel empowered to take action – or know how they can fight against it.

Sophia believes every person has a role to play as a climate activist, regardless of their work or lifestyle. The Climate Cardinals founder encourages people to make a difference in their daily lives and jobs, such as a fashion student finding ways to create more sustainable textiles or an engineering student using algorithms to develop more efficient solar panels.

“People too often think that being a climate activist means stopping
flying, or eating only 100 percent vegan. But, really, the way that
I look at it is that we need many more imperfect activists; people
who realise that, in their day-to-day jobs, there’s something that
they can do,” said Sophia.

Climate change awareness is still a major problem

For the young activist, climate change is deeply personal. At the age of 12, Sophia visited family in Iran and was struck by the severe pollution and high temperatures caused by climate change.

“I learned that temperatures in the Middle East were rising more
than twice the global average. Specifically, I was struck by how
awful the air pollution in Iran was. Thousands of people were being
hospitalised over just a few days,” noted Sophia.

“Yet, when I approached my relatives with these concerns, I was
struck by the fact that they told me that they had never heard
about climate change or global warming. All of these terms were
completely foreign to them,” Sophia added.

This experience inspired Sophia to become a climate activist and
start Climate Cardinals, an organisation that works to empower
young people to take action on climate change and to advocate for
policy changes.

Sophia encourages everyone to find their own way to be a climate
activist and make a difference in the fight against the climate crisis.
Ultimately, the young founder’s message is one of hope, one that
strengthens the belief that young people have the power to create
change.

Sign up for the women in tech newsletter to read more inspiring stories.

Main image of Sophia Kianni speaking on stage at Web Summit 2022: Ben McShane/Web Summit (CC BY 2.0)