Photo of Climate Strike in Melbourne
Photo by ABC News

Jean Hinchcliffe

Lead Organiser

School Strike 4 Climate Australia

POSITION

Lead Organiser

COMPANY

School Strike 4 Climate Australia

COUNTRY

Australia

SCENE

Environment

SOCIAL

Instagram

Twitter

What makes Jean Hinchcliffe a Global Shaker?

Jean Hichcliffe is a 15-year-old climate Activist from Australia. She’s the Lead Organiser for School Strike for the Climate in the country.

Much like other young climate activists, she’s regularly called her country’s answer to Greta Thurnberg.

She travelled to New York for Climate Week, posting a video responding to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who told young people to stop being ‘needlessly anxious’ about the climate crisis.

“To him I say: Our fears and our anxieties are completely valid. It is due to your lack of climate action that the latest IPCC report has predicted that over 200 million people will become refugees worldwide due to rising sea levels. That’s more than four times the current refugee population.

“Our futures will be filled with an increasing intensity of natural disasters. Of food shortages due to insect population decline. Of species worldwide going extinct. Do your job and take meaningful climate action and we won’t be this worried.”

In September, there were 30,000 people on strike in Sydney, 150,000 across Australia, and almost 1.5m globally in March 2019.

A profile on TedXSydney reveals that her activism was first initiated at the age of thirteen through volunteering with the Vote Yes campaign for marriage equality. In being involved with the climate strikes, she has appeared on The Project and The Feed, and widely through Australian media. She’s also an actress, appearing on the TV Show The Unlisted.

Hinchcliffe is very active on national environmental issues, such as the #StopAdani campaign to prevent the construction of the biggest coal mine in Australia’s history by mining giant Adani.

Tags: Activism, Australia, Climate crisis, School Strikes

Last updated: November 11, 2019