Roots is a Global South organization that works to shift power, break down barriers, and expand opportunities for communities hit hardest by the climate crisis. Through capacity, advocacy, funding, and spaces to organize, we build infrastructure that supports people to turn bold ideas into locally-grounded solutions that change what’s possible in everyday life.
Our values
Build bridges, cross divides
The most powerful movements are built through relationships, over time, and across differences. We actively seek out partnerships with people whose experiences and perspectives challenge and expand our own - because power grows when we build solidarity across frontlines, and not just within them.
Take risks, learn relentlessly
We believe that bold action requires the willingness to try things that might not work. We don’t fear failure - we treat it as one of our most honest teachers. We hold ourselves accountable to learning openly and quickly, and we always ensure that the risks we take serve our communities, not just our own growth.
Start with the community, stay with the community
Transformation is only real if it’s rooted in the people most impacted by the issues we work on. We listen first, we shape our work around what our community actually needs, and we stay present - not just when it’s convenient, but for the long haul.
Trust is sacred, show up like it
When someone extends their trust to us, they are making an investment we don’t take lightly. We show up consistently, we follow through, and we understand that trust isn't built in a single moment. It’s earned over time, through every interaction, in the things we choose to do, and those we choose not to.
But how did it all start?
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2016-2018
In the beginning...
A small team within Greenpeace sets out to answer a question that would become the foundation for everything: what would it mean to shift resources, build trust, and co-create strategies closer to the communities most impacted by climate and social injustice? The team supports Greenpeace offices in carrying out mobilizations and tactical interventions alongside local allies.
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2019-2021
Shifting focus
Young people rise up and revolutionize the climate justice movement. Roots sharpens its focus, developing resources and tailored support for young climate leaders around the world. When COVID-19 forces everything online, Roots adapts quickly and reaches more people than ever through digital trainings and workshops focused on neighborhood organizing. The explosion of false narratives circulating during the pandemic leads to the launch of a dedicated climate disinformation program.
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2022
The Climate Justice Camp launches
© Seddik Boubaker
As the world reopens, Roots launches its most ambitious project yet: the Climate Justice Camp - the largest in-person power-building platform of its kind. Developed over several months with more than 30 partner organizations, the first edition of the camp is held in Tunisia ahead of COP27, bringing together 350 young climate leaders from across the Global South. While still hosted within Greenpeace, Roots has grown into a global initiative, increasingly defined by the communities and organizers it was built to serve.
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2023-2024
Taking it to the next level
© Roukoz Alam
Roots launches its brand externally, establishing a strong digital presence and opening up new partnership opportunities. The second Climate Justice Camp is held in Lebanon for 450 young leaders from across the Global South, attracting international attention. A group of Caribbean participants bring Roots a vision for a regional edition of the platform. The result is the Climate Justice Camp Caribbean, held in early 2024 in Sint Maarten to connect climate justice demands across 25 small island states in the region. Later the same year, the third global camp is held in Tanzania, bringing together 300 people from more than 100 countries. Roots launches a Well-being Ambassadors Network; and a new micro-grants program - offering up to $10,000 in funding for youth-led climate initiatives in Global South regions.
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2025
The road to independence
Roots begins laying the foundations for independence, establishing the infrastructure and funding to launch as a fully autonomous organization by 2026. The second regional Climate Justice Camp takes place in Colombia, focused on ecofeminism. This is followed by the fourth global edition in Mexico, bringing the total number of participants across all camps to almost 2,000, supported by more than 200 partner organizations. In collaboration with CAAD, Roots launches the Fellowship for Countering Disinformation. Over six months, 8 Fellows investigate how disinformation spreads in their contexts, uncovering the narratives, actors, and systems driving it and the real impact on frontline communities.
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2026
A landmark year
Roots launches as an independent, standalone organization and hits the ground running! Work gets underway for the third regional edition of the Climate Justice Camp, taking place in Asia for the first time. Roots Lab launches as a new learning hub; offering hands-on workshops, mentorship, and support for the next generation of organizers. The Growing Roots Grant provides funding to new and emerging projects and bold ideas from Global South, BIPOC, and diaspora communities; and the Fellowship for Countering Climate Disinformation enters its second phase, moving from research, into localized community action.
Meet the team
Agus (pronouns: he/him)
Role: Executive Director
Agus is the Executive Director of Roots, having spearheaded its inception in 2016. He has a long track record in grassroots organizing, movement building, training, and facilitation, and believes that building community is an essential step in achieving meaningful change. He’s crazy about escape rooms and intricate board games.
Bianca (pronouns: she/her)
Role: Advocacy & Engagement Coordinator
Based in Portugal, Bianca Castro is the Advocacy & Engagement Coordinator at Roots, and has been with the team since 2022. She started her climate justice activism with Fridays For Future, and has years of experience in grassroots organizing and UNFCCC processes. Bi is also an author on climate justice topics and a political analyst on climate and social policies. With a background in music, theater, and science, she enjoys bringing together science, arts, and politics.
Bruno (pronouns: he/him)
Role: Community & Insights Coordinator
Based in Argentina, Bruno Giambelluca is the Community & Insights Coordinator at Roots, and has been part of the team since 2020. He has over a decade of experience in the environmental sector in Argentina, Chile, and Colombia, focusing on urban waste management, climate policy, and grassroots movements. He is a lover of new technology as a form of communication, and is a passionate cyclist.
Feli (pronouns: she/her)
Role: Learning & Development Coordinator
Based in Chile, Felisa Aguilar is the Learning & Development Coordinator for Roots, and has been with the team since 2021. A psychologist by profession, Feli works to strengthen well-being and resilience in the movements or groups through mindfulness practices, non-violent communication, and effective facilitation. In her free time, Feli is an avid anime watcher.
Jo (pronouns: she/her)
Role: Field Specialist
Based in the Philippines, Joanna Sustento has been a Field Specialist at Roots since 2022. She leads the Roots Micro-grants project and is the pioneer behind the Human LIVErary. Jo started her journey in the climate movement in 2013 and has since been sharing her story as a typhoon survivor and activist in the hopes of humanizing the climate crisis. She loves biking and being in nature. She is a full-time mom too!
Ro (pronouns: she/her)
Role: Field Specialist
Based in Argentina, Rosario Coll is a Field Specialist at Roots, joining the team in 2020. A climate activist for over a decade, a journalist, and a feminist, Ro believes that power lies in people, and that collective change comes from intersectional collaboration. Ro also co-hosts a regular radio show, likes sailing, and identifies as a cat person despite having a dog named Cuba.
Sandra (pronouns: she/her)
Role: Field Specialist
Based in Mexico, Sandra Laso is a Field Specialist at Roots, joining the team in 2024. She has over a decade of experience working with civil society organizations as a volunteer, activist, campaigner, coordinator and manager. She is passionate about feminism and environmentalism; is a dog lover; and is constantly judged for her laugh.
Sophie (pronouns: she/her)
Role: Engagement Director
Based in Aotearoa New Zealand, Sophie Schroder is the Engagement Director at Roots, joining the team in 2020. With a background in journalism, she has a passion for creative communications that bring complex issues to life and tell the stories of the people and communities most impacted. Sophie has a dog named Pablo, and a penchant for dystopian fiction.