Amalie Conchelle H. Obusan, 40

Regional Climate and Energy Campaign Coordinator and was Project Leader for the GPSEA Arctic Project in 2013.

I’ve been with Greenpeace since 2005, starting out as a fundraiser. Last year I led the Save the Arctic project in Greenpeace Southeast Asia. The Arctic project was launched by Greenpeace globally to preserve the Arctic regions and to declare it as a global sanctuary—protecting it from oil drilling and unsustainable industrial activities.

I was initially very hesitant to lead this project because I felt that it would be very challenging to communicate this to a tropical, Southeast Asian audience. But I had a change of heart when I began seeing the number of Arctic Defenders from the region increasing steadily. Tens of thousands of people from the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore signed up to join the petition demanding for an Arctic Sanctuary.

One inspiring moment was when Sarah Batrisyia Binti Mohammed A’Reeff, a 13-year old Girl Guide from Malaysia, won first place in the Flag for the Future art contest, which Greenpeace organized internationally with the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts. The Flag for the Future contest inspired youth from around the world to create a flag that would symbolize peace, hope and global community—a statement of commitment of millions of people who have signed the Arctic petition that would protect it from oil drilling and overfishing.

Sarah created the “Arctic Star” to represent hope not only for the Arctic, but for the whole world. She said “we can only save the Arctic for future generations if we are united in peace and harmony.”

I think she showed the world that tens of thousands of people from Southeast Asia care about the Arctic. The diversity and breadth of the audiences and supporters we reached across the region was truly remarkable. I’m very proud of that.

As a mother to two young children, I want to help save the planet for their future. Climate change knows no boundaries and we in Southeast Asia are among the most vulnerable to its impacts. But solutions to climate change are also abundant in our region. The ASEAN Energy Revolution blueprint, which we published last year shows that Southeast Asia has a potential of achieving more than 90% RE by 2050. There are also many other different ways by which governments and communities can achieve this. We are all part of the solution.