The climate crisis is about actual lives, not just about numbers and statistics.
Climate Justice for Rosa (CJfR) is a growing coalition of people whose lives have been touched (or whose conscience has been stirred) by the climate crisis. We are young people, families, survivors, scientists, and artists united by one belief: remembrance is a form of resistance.
What began as one teenager’s response to the loss of his friend Rosa has become a youth-led, volunteer-run movement that bridges memory and policy, honoring those we’ve lost while fighting for those still at risk. We turn grief into action, through activism, art, and advocacy, reminding the world that the climate crisis is not a distant threat, but a lived reality.
Everyone who shares that conviction is welcome with us. You don’t have to have lost someone personally to stand for those who have.
Action & Activism (Taking to the Streets)
Our movement began in the streets.
The Climate Justice for Rosa campaign was launched during a climate march in Brussels in October 2021, only months after the floods that took Rosa’s life. Since then, we’ve joined countless demonstrations across Europe—always in red, carrying our banner that reads:
“Politicians die of old age. Rosa died of climate change.”
But protest alone isn’t enough. Today, our work bridges remembrance and policy—from marches to parliaments, from memorials to international negotiations.
Do you want to join us at the next march or invite us to yours? Contact us!
15 July
European and Belgian Remembrance Day for the Victims of the Global Climate Crisis
Acknowledging the problem is the first step towards solving it. The climate crisis claims lives across the globe, yet these victims often go unrecognized and uncommemorated. As David Van Reybrouck aptly puts it, "It is difficult to commemorate when you are partly responsible."
In the aftermath of the catastrophic floods of 2021, which claimed 220 lives in Belgium and Germany, Benjamin and Rosa’s family conceived the idea of establishing an official day of remembrance for the victims of the global climate crisis. The first person Benjamin contacted was EU Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans. They chose 15 July, the anniversary of the tragic floods, as the date for the remembrance day.
Thanks to our advocacy, the European Commission, Parliament, and Council officially designated 15 July as the “EU Day for the Victims of the Global Climate Crisis” in July 2023, and the Belgian federal parliament followed the European example in May 2024.
Climate Justice for Rosa is now pushing to have this remembrance day recognized by the UN at an upcoming General Assembly session. Stay tuned!
Advocacy
Benjamin, a prize-winning public speaker, has made a significant impact at events organized by the European Union, the UNFCCC, the Belgian federal parliament, and the Flemish parliament.
Benjamin's advocacy doesn't stop at governmental platforms. He is frequently invited by various organizations in Belgium and abroad to discuss climate justice, youth activism, and children's rights. Additionally, Benjamin is often asked to write opinion pieces for newspapers, further extending his reach and influence. His ability to connect with diverse audiences—from international policymakers to grassroots activists and audiences of all ages—ensures that the message of Climate Justice for Rosa resonates widely and deeply. Benjamin not only hopes to honour Rosa’s legacy but also to empower others to join the fight for a sustainable and just future.
Would you like Benjamin to speak at your event or in your school or organization? Get in touch!
Children's Rights
The climate crisis is a children’s rights crisis. Climate Justice for Rosa recognizes that today’s and tomorrow’s children are among the most affected by the accelerating impacts of the climate crisis. We work to ensure that their voices are not only heard but shape the decisions that determine their future.
Through our advocacy at the United Nations, the European Union, and international climate summits, we push for children’s rights to be placed at the heart of climate policy. We actively support the implementation of General Comment No. 26 of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child—the first global legal interpretation confirming that governments have a duty to protect children from environmental harm. We also contribute to the global campaign around the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on Climate Change, which seeks to clarify states’ legal obligations to safeguard the rights of present and future generations.
Together with partners from around the world, we call on leaders and courts to uphold every child’s right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment.
We give a platform to young activists from around the world who are already living the consequences of the crisis, sharing their stories of loss, resilience, and courage. From Bangladesh to Tuvalu to Europe, these stories remind the world that the climate crisis is not about numbers and statistics, but about real people, people like you and us, and people like Rosa.
Our work calls for accountability, solidarity, and justice, for the children growing up in the climate crisis, and for the generations yet to come.
United Nations Climate Change Conferences
The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the main decision-making forum under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), bringing together 197 nations to address the climate crisis. Since 1995, world leaders have met annually to negotiate global climate agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement. Alongside governments, COPs unite civil society, scientists, and youth movements from around the world to exchange knowledge, influence policy, and push for collective action.
At these summits, Climate Justice for Rosa brings the lived experiences of young people on the frontlines of the climate crisis to the spaces where global decisions are made. We have been invited to speak at high-level events hosted by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Climate Change, the European Union, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Child Rights International Network (CRIN), and other international bodies. Our interventions consistently call for children’s rights to be placed at the heart of climate policy—building on General Comment No. 26 and the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on climate change.
We also organise our own youth-led side events to give a platform to young people directly affected by the climate crisis, amplifying voices from communities in Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific who are too often excluded from global decision-making. In addition, we facilitate bilateral meetings between young Earth defenders and EU leaders, creating direct spaces for dialogue, solidarity, and accountability.
By ensuring that those living with the consequences of climate inaction are heard in the very rooms where the world’s future is negotiated, we turn personal loss into political change and push for climate justice grounded in human rights.