Cynthia Houniuhi
Cynthia Houniuhi | |
|---|---|
 Houniuhi in 2019 | |
| Born | 1993 or 1994 (age 31–32) |
| Education | |
| Occupations |
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| Organization | President of Pacific Island Students Fighting Climate Change |
| Awards | Time 100 Next 2023, Time Climate 100 2025 |
Cynthia Rosah Bareagihaka Houniuhi (born 1993 or 1994[1]) is a Solomonese environmental activist and professor who is most known for being a co-founder of and serving as President of Pacific Island Students Fighting Climate Change, which successfully convinced the International Court of Justice to issue its 2025 Advisory Ruling on the Obligation of States in Cases of Climate Change. She currently works as a Lecturer of Law at the University of the South Pacific, her alma mater. She was named a Time 100 Next in 2023, and a Time Climate 100 in 2025.
Biography
She was born and raised in the Reef Islands, an island chain within the Solomon Islands.[2][3] She has frequently reflected on her youth in the islands, where she planted crops, fished, hunted, and was taught about the importance about caring for the environment.[3] She first realized the problem of climate change and rising tides when, during a visit to her father's island, she observed houses deep in salt water and families evacuated.[4]
She began law school at the University of the South Pacific.[5] During her third year of law school, in 2019,[6] her lecturer tasked her class with promoting climate justice. They soon thought of getting the International Court of Justice to issue an advisory opinion on climate justice, and after some hesitation, formed Pacific Island Students Fighting Climate Change in an effort to do just that. After a start involving crowdfunding the necessary money for their first banner, Houniuhi and her organization were propelled by the support of Ralph Regenvanu, Vanuatu's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade.[4]
By 2023, the United Nations had issued a unanimous request for this advisory opinion. Houniuhi herself took the stand during the International Court's hearing to present a six-minute[7] speech focusing on what she called the fundamental injustice of the harms being done to Pacific Island nations by climate change when they contributed only a tiny fraction of the damage.[8][9] The court ultimately ruled that nations are responsible if they fail to stop the climate crisis, the Paris Agreement is binding, and extraction of fossil fuels could be considered a crime.[10][11]
She was named to the Time 100 Next in 2023; her profile was written by Mary Robinson.[12] She was also named to the Time Climate 100 in 2025.[1]
She currently works as an Assistant Lecturer of Law at the University of the South Pacific.[13][14]
See also
References
- 1 2 "Time 100 Climate 2025 - Cynthia Houniuhi". Time. October 30, 2025. Archived from the original on November 5, 2025. Retrieved May 18, 2026.
- ↑ "Using the law to hold high-emitting states to account". WWF Arctic. Archived from the original on December 18, 2025. Retrieved May 18, 2026.
- 1 2 "King tides, flooding, storms: the ocean that was once my playground and my teacher is now the source of my greatest fear". The Guardian. September 13, 2025. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved May 18, 2026.
- 1 2 "'Whether you win or lose, some fights are worth fighting': The largest ever climate case's unlikely origins". BBC. July 23, 2025. Archived from the original on April 13, 2026. Retrieved May 18, 2026.
- ↑ Jarvis, Brooke (September 10, 2025). "How a Group of Students in the Pacific Islands Reshaped Global Climate Law". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 25, 2025. Retrieved May 18, 2026.
- ↑ "Cynthia Houniuhi". MAKE RICH POLLUTERS PAY. Archived from the original on July 18, 2026. Retrieved May 18, 2026.
- ↑ "Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change". Right Livelihood. Archived from the original on May 25, 2026. Retrieved May 18, 2026.
- ↑ "The law students who struck a seismic blow for climate justice". UNEP. December 10, 2025. Archived from the original on April 29, 2026. Retrieved May 18, 2026.
- ↑ Ahmed, Sara (March 31, 2026). "Pacific Women and the Call for Climate Justice". CVF V20. Archived from the original on May 20, 2026. Retrieved May 18, 2026.
- ↑ "The Pacific islands struggling to survive". Forskning och framsteg. May 18, 2026. Archived from the original on May 20, 2026. Retrieved May 18, 2026.
- ↑ "Climate history made at the world's highest court by 27 students". URGE Collective. August 5, 2025. Archived from the original on May 12, 2026. Retrieved May 18, 2026.
- ↑ "Time 100 Next: Cynthia Houniuhi". Time. Retrieved May 18, 2026.
- ↑ "Cynthia Houniuhi". Discipline of Law. Archived from the original on November 6, 2025. Retrieved June 28, 2026.
- ↑ Oke, Cathy; Verbeeck, Jorn (2026), "Cynthia Houniuhi (Solomon Islands): The Land Remembers", City Leaders for Sustainable Futures: Portraits of Visionary Urban Changemakers, Singapore: Springer Nature, pp. 77–85, doi:10.1007/978-981-95-9544-0_9, ISBN 978-981-95-9544-0, retrieved June 28, 2026