Mitzi Jonelle Tan

Mitzi Jonelle Tan (born 27 October 1997) is a Filipino climate justice activist. She lives in Metro Manila, Philippines.
Biography.
Tan's activism started in 2017 after meeting with indigenous leaders in her country. This made her realize that collective action and system change are necessary to create a more just and green society.
The effects of climate change in the Philippines are predicted to be severe, with the Philippines being one of the most affected countries. Typhoons affecting the Philippines, an archipelago nation already vulnerable to storms, are set to become even stronger during more the frequent occurrences of El Niño. Climate change encourages the spread of infectious diseases such as dengue fever, and storms can destroy or damage components of infrastructure such as hospitals and water utilities that normally mitigate disease, as did Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in 2013. Agricultural damage due to storms, extreme temperatures, and drought, and fisheries collapse threaten the Philippines, which is still transitioning to industrialization, with food insecurity, and many dependent on climate-sensitive livelihoods may have few resources to cope. The 1.6 million fishers dependent on Philippine coastal waters, which include rich and biodiverse coral reefs, are a particularly marginalized and vulnerable group. Millions of Filipinos live in flood-prone areas (see sea level rise). The Philippines is also one of the most dangerous countries in the world for land and environmental defenders in recent years, which makes it difficult for activists to campaign around environmental issues.
In 2019, Tan co-founded Youth Advocates for Climate Action Philippines (YACAP), the Fridays For Future (FFF) organization of the Philippines, following climate demonstrations around the world. Tan is the lead convener and international spokesperson of YACAP. Tan is also a Fridays for Future activist in the Philippines, and spokesperson.
She has led climate action strikes at the University of the Philippines, where she graduated from mathematics. Tan was part of the move to take school strikes for climate online at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. In September 2020, Tan was part of a move to return to 'safe' climate protests.
In late 2020, Tan was one of the volunteers who organised "Mock COP26", which had delegates from 140 countries. She also gave a talk at "Mock COP26" on being an activist living where activism is equated with terrorism. Commenting on "Mock COP26" Tan told The Guardian "They're making sure that the voices of the most affected areas are amplified, and making sure that we have a space and we're not just tokenised." She was one of the activists to take part in the Fridays For Future 'Pass the Mic' campaign, also in late 2020, to request that Attenborough pass on his Instagram account to youth advocates, particularly from the Global South.
In November 2020 Tan backed the Climate Live series of international concerts to be held in 2021.
Tan's organisation went into action following the 2020 back-to-back hurricanes in the Philippines to help the most impacted communities, including by feeding the hungry and talking to them about the problems they faced.
Tan along with four other activists from MAPA (Most Affected Peoples and Areas) countries, Eyal Weintraub of Argentina, Disha A Ravi of India, Kevin Mtai of Kenya, and Laura Verónica Muñoz of Colombia, along with Greta Thunberg have announced a new wave of climate strikes. While announcing climate strikes Tan has called for "annual binding carbon targets and immediate cuts in emissions in all sectors of our economy." She also said: "If we don't act now, we won't even have a chance to achieve those 2030 and 2050 goals that world leaders keep talking about."
Tan is also one of the Fridays for Future activists leading the 2021 Clean Up Standard Chartered campaign of Fridays for Future, a divestment campaign calling on Standard Chartered Bank to divest from companies involved in the coal industry around the world.
Tan has addressed gender stereotypes and sexism that she faces in her activism, as women are often ignored or dismissed. She has also noted that climate education is typically "alienating, Western, too technical, and not empowering at all," in relation to the approach that she takes as an activist. Tan has also spoken up about "red-tagging," a practice of government officials and supporters in the Philippines where activists and opposition are branded as communists or terrorists, and how it has negative effects on the participation of the youth in the climate movement in her country.
Tan has provided inspiration to others, such as the Indonesian youth activist Salsabila Khairunnisa.