11 years old, “Colombia’s Greta Thunberg” receives death threats

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg gained worldwide fame in 2018 when she organized a strike outside the seat of national parliament in Stockholm at age 15, inspiring a worldwide protest movement to fight environmental injustices. Besides riling up prominent climate change deniers such as ex-U.S. President Donald Trump and Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro, Miss. Thunberg helped to inspire a generation of young voices to speak up against the destruction of the planet. One such follower is Francisco Vera, an 11-year-old boy from the town of Villeta, northwest of the Colombian capital Bogotá.

In 2019, Francisco founded an environmental group called the Guardians of Life, organizing marches around his village with his school friends. The group now has over 200 members across three countries.

And even with over 54,000 coronavirus deaths in his home country, Francisco has not let the pandemic put a stop to his activism. Wearing a facemask bearing the slogan “Boys and girls have the right to free speech. We are the present,” Francisco is keen to continue his environmental projects during 2021, including his push to end single-use plastics in...