Thank you so much for having me as a witness.
Thank you, Bruce Fanjoy, for inviting me.
Hello. My name is Sophia Mathur. I am 18 years old, a climate activist and a first-year university student at the University of Ottawa. Funnily enough, I have a math mid-term right after this.
When I was seven years old, I started lobbying for climate action, not in the way that adults around me did with thick briefing binders and a long list of evidence—that was their role—but in a way a child can, by sitting and listening. By showing up and by being present, it felt as though I was reminding everyone in the room that the decisions being made were shaping my future, because they were.
When you're seven, climate action isn't just policy; it's a promise, a promise that the world I grow up in will be safe, beautiful and alive. I've carried that belief with me ever since. While the devastation of climate change is real and frightening, with fires, floods and smoke-filled summers, I don't want my generation's story to be one of despair. I want it to be one of accountability and courage.
Over the years, I've met politicians and experts who have dedicated their lives to this fight. I've always admired that. It takes resilience to turn research into policy and policy into measurable change.
Now that I've started university and I'm beginning to study economics with a minor in public policy, I'm continuing to understand just how complex this world is, and I am nowhere near an expert. Efficiency, cost and timelines aren't just numbers; they represent people's lives, yet through my climate activism, I've also learned that this complexity can't be an excuse for inaction, because while climate policy takes time, climate change does not wait.
I ask myself, how long will climate policy be too hard to advertise in political campaigns? How long will this global crisis be rewritten as partisan? Do voters know that the cost of this discussion is the deadly impacts of climate change?
I brought with me today a book given to me by Citizens' Climate Lobby that summarizes the evidence from climate change experts on Canadian emissions strategies. The message from scientists and economists is consistent: Make polluters pay.
Fossil fuel companies, many of which make billions in profit each year, must bear responsibility for the pollution they create. One of the key findings is clear: Carbon capture and storage is costly, is largely inefficient as an emissions reductions tool and will continue to keep money in the pockets of these polluters.
Today, I want to offer not a critique but a reminder that young people like me, the people you represent, are watching, learning and hoping. We trust that our leaders will listen to the evidence, respect the experts and keep their promises, because for me, this isn't just about emissions targets; it's about integrity. It's about what it means to make a promise to the next generation and to keep it.
I may only be 18, and I have much to learn, but I know one thing for certain. Real leadership isn't measured by how many promises are made. It's measured by how many are kept.
Thank you.