Xiuhtezcatl Roske-Martinez is a 19-year-old Native American musician, environmental activist and youth director of Earth Guardians, a worldwide conservation organisation for young people.

Since the age of six, he has fought for climate protections and spoken to large crowds about the effects of fossil fuels on the Indigenous and other marginalised communities. 

In 2015, he spoke at the United Nations General Assembly in English, Spanish and his native language, Nahuatl about the urgency of climate change, urging them to act immediately. 

“What’s at stake right now is the existence of my generation,” he said in his speech.

“In the last 20 years of negotiations, almost no agreements have been made on a bonding climate recovery plan.”

“Youth are standing up all over the planet to find solutions. We need you to take action. We are all indigenous to this earth.”

Martinez is one of 21 people involved in the Juliana v. United States 2015 case, suing the federal government for failing to act on climate change.