Draft:Zainab Bie

Zainab Bie
Born	Delhi, India
Citizenship	Indian
Education	Miranda House, University of Delhi
Occupation	Climate justice advocate
Organization	Equal Right
Known for	Climate justice advocacy; climate finance; youth climate policy
Awards	Natasha Stevens Legacy Fund Award (2023); Reuters Future Energy Leader (2024)

Zainab Bie is an Indian climate justice advocate and public policy professional. Her work focuses on climate finance, economic justice, youth participation in climate policy, and representation of the Global South in international climate negotiations. She has participated in United Nations climate conferences, the G20, and other international policy forums. She is the Director for Asia Pacific at Equal Right, an organization focused on economic justice.

Bie began participating in international youth and sustainability initiatives while still a student in Delhi. She later worked with organizations and networks involved in climate policy, youth advocacy, sustainability and economic justice, including the G20 Research Group at the University of Toronto, the United States Agency for International Development's Climate Action Champions Network, and Equal Right.

Early life and education

Zainab Bie was born in Delhi, India. She studied at Delhi Public School, Mathura Road, before pursuing economics at Miranda House, University of Delhi.

In 2021, she participated in the United Nations Institute for Training and Research's Young Leaders Training Programme. She also participated in the UNCTAD15 Youth Forum, where she engaged in discussions concerning sustainable development and the Sustainable Development Goals.

While still a teenager, Bie obtained the LEED Green Associate credential, with a scholarship from the U.S. Green Building Council.

Early climate advocacy

In 2022, Bie participated in the UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, where she engaged with youth constituencies and climate-education initiatives. She was among the young people involved in the launch of the Climate Education Coalition, which sought to expand climate education internationally.

She also participated in the Climate Justice Camp in Tunisia in 2022, where she contributed to sessions on the circular economy and climate policy. The following year she was a co-organizer of a Climate Justice Camp in Lebanon that brought together young climate activists and organizations from different countries.

In 2023, Bie participated in the Bonn climate conference (SB58), where she spoke on climate advocacy and youth participation. She also became an analyst with the G20 Research Group at the University of Toronto during India's 2023 G20 presidency, focusing on climate-related commitments.

International climate advocacy

In 2023, Bie was selected as a fellow of the Mercedes-Benz beVisioneers programme. Reuters later profiled her as a beVisioneers fellow and reported on her efforts to bring young people's perspectives into climate policymaking during the G20 summit in India. According to Reuters, she organized workshops and group sessions with students in Delhi and brought their concerns and ideas to decision-makers involved in the summit.

In 2023, she also participated in COP28 in Dubai, where she followed discussions on climate finance and energy transition and worked with the International Renewable Energy Agency on communications concerning renewable energy. Her advocacy increasingly focused on the distribution of climate finance and the participation of communities from the Global South in climate decision-making.

In 2024, Bie served as one of eight youth advisers on the Ørsted Youth Panel.

She also participated in the 2024 United Nations Summit of the Future and New York Climate Week, where her work focused on climate finance, youth participation and economic justice.

At COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, Bie participated as part of an Equal Right delegation. Her activities included advocacy around climate finance, the Cap and Share model and unconditional cash transfers. The National quoted her during COP29 in coverage of debates surrounding climate finance and the geopolitics of the negotiations.

Climate finance and economic justice

A major focus of Bie's later work has been the relationship between climate change and economic inequality. At Equal Right, she has worked on proposals intended to redirect climate finance toward communities directly affected by climate change.

One such initiative is Cap and Share, a policy proposal that places a cap on fossil-fuel extraction and distributes revenues generated through the system. Bie has promoted the proposal in international climate-policy discussions through her work with Equal Right. Equal Right reported that Palau became the first country to sign the organization's Cap and Share pledge.

Another strand of her work concerns unconditional cash transfers (UCTs) and universal basic income as mechanisms for climate adaptation and economic security.

Bie has written about climate philanthropy in articles for Alliance Magazine and Nonprofit Quarterly. Her articles have examined barriers faced by grassroots and Global South organizations in accessing climate funding and argued for greater participation by frontline communities in philanthropic decision-making.

Her public writing has also addressed universal basic income, economic redistribution and the effects of technological automation. In a 2026 article published by Equal Right, she argued that the economic gains associated with artificial intelligence should be distributed more broadly through mechanisms including universal basic income.

Equal Right lists Bie as its Director, Asia Pacific, describing her work as focused on climate justice and public policy and noting her participation in COP27, COP28, the G20 and UN climate conferences.

Gender and climate advocacy

Bie has also worked on the participation of women and girls in climate policymaking. Through Girl Rising, she has written about women's experiences in international climate negotiations and the distinction between formal participation and meaningful influence.

In 2023, Bie received Girl Rising's first Natasha Stevens Legacy Fund Award, which supported her work on eco-feminism and climate advocacy. She has subsequently written about women's participation in international climate negotiations, including the distinction between representation and meaningful influence.

At COP28, she contributed to the Generation Equality Forum's Message to World Leaders from Women of the World, addressing gender equality and women's participation in climate action.

Recognition

Bie has received several awards and distinctions for her work in sustainability and climate advocacy. These include the Reuters Future Energy Leader 2024 recognition, the MASH Project #29for29 recognition in 2024, and the the UICCA Climate Call award in the Energy category.

She received the Natasha Stevens Legacy Fund Award from Girl Rising in 2023 for her contribution to eco-feminism. Earlier recognitions include a Silver Award in the Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition in 2021 and recognition in the Earth Science Week video contest in 2022.

Her early sustainability work was also recognized by Education Times, which profiled her as a young achiever and reported on her LEED Green Associate qualification.

Publications

Bie has written articles and opinion pieces for Alliance Magazine and Nonprofit Quarterly. She has also contributed writing to Girl Rising and the G20 Research Group at the University of Toronto. Earlier publications include an article for UN-Habitat's Urban Resilience Hub and contributions to URBANET.

Her writing has addressed topics including climate finance, economic redistribution, climate justice, universal basic income, sustainable development, and the participation of women and young people in climate policymaking.