"We’ve got to change our relationship with nature in order to stop climate change.” Environmental campaigner Verel in Bristol.

After navigating a series of Bristol’s winding hills, you come to an unassuming door on an ordinary street corner. It’s opened by Verel, a young environmental campaigner, who is wearing a plain yellow jumper and has a quiet charm about him as he beckons us inside.

We’re led up a steep set of stairs into a lofty house and turn an abrupt corner into his room. At first glance, it appears comfortingly familiar with bright posters above a big bed, potted plants, tapestries on the wall, and a full bookshelf, typical of any bedroom.

But you look again and realise this is anything but ordinary, something important is happening here, and you can almost feel it. Each poster bears a vibrant campaign slogan, and the book titles aren’t just light reads, but an extensive archive of environmental theory. Even the plants take on a different significance.

Two screens are buzzing with activity, still open, waiting for Verel. At this small white desk, the climate emergency can be felt, like a reverberating alarm, ringing loud and clear.

This sense of urgency for him has been escalating for some time. We sit down to talk and Verel tells us about his journey from mechanical engineering to sustainability consulting to environmental activism.

“I remember the Australian bushfires started happening and then the Amazon Rainforest was on fire. Both these events really ramped up my eco anxiety. I’d been conscious about the environment before. But seeing the Amazon on fire really scared me and just pushed me to want to do more campaigning.”

Verel joined Extinction Rebellion, the global environmental movement, working on their communications. He discovered his ability to reach people on an emotional level, to appeal to their empathy, and explain complex ideas around climate change in the simplest terms.

Recently, Tuvalu’s foreign minister recorded a speech for COP26 standing knee-deep in seawater to highlight how the Pacific Island nation is at the forefront of climate change.

We talk about how this is the sort of visual storytelling that can resonate across the world, shocking others into recognising the impact on countries who often have a much lower carbon footprint.

Reiterating the same clear rallying call over and over is something he feels Extinction Rebellion have excelled at, to raise public awareness.

He becomes animating remembering in 2019 when the government declared a climate emergency, and then set a Net Zero target. Then two years later, the Prime Minister Boris Johnson started using the same language that Extinction Rebellion used, language that had seemed radical just years before.

Verel became more invested in trying to find solutions worldwide to tackling climate change. He feels strongly that diverse voices and people from all backgrounds must be represented in decision making.

“We need to get more people of colour involved in environmental activism. Extinction Rebellion, for example, gets criticised sometimes for being very white middle-class. That’s why I want to do more myself, to lead by example.”

“At COP26, it was so good to witness so many indigenous people of colour marching and getting their voices heard, when often they aren’t listened to. Hopefully that sets the scene for future COPs to come.”

Verel is hopeful that by educating people in the Global South more, they can spread the word in their communities, highlighting local signs of climate change. Young people can lead the way in educating older generations.

He’s witnessed his family become more aware over time, after many conversations. Verel grew up in Dubai, coming to the UK aged eighteen, and his parents are originally from Goa in India.

“My dad can’t deny climate change anymore. There’s so much pollution in Dubai and he believes the temperature is rising from witnessing it in Goa over many years.”

For Verel, the increasing need to speak up wherever possible comes from his own background. It gives him shocking insight into how climate change is visibly impacting the environment.

“Having lived in Dubai and regularly visiting Goa, I’ve experienced the temperatures increasing steadily in both places, especially by the coast.”

“And in Goa, it rains randomly now. It's not supposed to rain so frequently during winter months which causes crop failures. Crops like rice are staple food sources for the region.”

“Goa is also famous for its beaches. But since I was young and would visit every summer, I've noticed the beaches have become smaller and shorter. Every year I go, they disappear more, mainly due to sea levels rising and illegal sand mining. By 2050, the sea levels will have risen so much, those beaches may be gone, and the water will flood people’s homes. That scares me a lot.”

Witnessing this seemingly unstoppable series of events, Verel went on to study renewable energy for his masters. However, he found that too many governments see renewable energy as unreliable, and a much bigger attitude change is needed. He’s now working in green communications to spread the word more effectively.

“We've got to change our relationship with nature in order to stop climate change. It's not just technology that will save us. We've got to stop the destruction of nature, like in the Amazon rainforest, by completely rewiring our minds.”

You can tell there’s a fire burning inside him that has grown so strong, it’s become all consuming. He is desperate for us all to entirely rethink our lives before it’s too late.

Verel takes us on a walk around the nearby neighbourhood of St. Werburgh’s, full of colourful street art and up to a hilltop overlooking Bristol, bright with the last leaves before winter sets in. He holds up a banner ‘Stop Ecocide’, a solitary figure pleading with the city below to take notice.

It’s a campaign Verel supports that seeks to establish laws to protect ancient trees and habitant that are hundreds of years old. Just like ancient buildings, they deserve the same status, he explains with a furrowed brow. At times, you can feel the weight of the fight to make a difference is a heavy burden to bear.

We come to a clearing of trees and turn to another campaign Verel supports, the fight against HS2, the high-speed railway line across the country. Initially positive about the project with his engineering background, he went to witness the tree felling involved that changed his mind.

Verel feels this process is a too high price to pay, including the destruction of culturally significant areas such as ancient woodland in Buckinghamshire, said to have inspired Roald Dahl’s book Fantastic Mr Fox.

“Obviously, trees can't talk, but you can feel the pain that they're feeling when you're there. Just listening to the chainsaw cutting is horrible. It’s kind of like PTSD now. Every time I hear a chainsaw, even if someone is cutting a hedge, it reminds me of those trees being cut down,” he says mournfully.

The level of investment Verel has in the environment can sometimes impact his mental health, having experienced intense periods of burn out. He has needed to create more boundaries and learned to take breaks from activism.

The main outlet he uses for sharing his views is through social media, particularly LinkedIn, with a large following, which he insists is a platform mainly for channelling his own anger and fear.

Verel’s emotions are intrinsically linked with his campaigning, as he turns negative feelings into a more hopeful state of mind. By seeing others’ reactions to his eco anxiety, he feels understood and part of a community.

Since moving to Bristol, he has discovered so many others who share his beliefs, including being vegan, and environmentally conscious.

As we walk back towards his house, we reflect on the future. Verel believes that renewable energy should be subsidised and vested interest in fossil fuels must end, even if some of the effects of climate change are now inevitable, such as rising temperatures.

While he thinks COP26 didn’t achieve tangible change, he sees it as an opportunity,

“We activists and other environmental groups now need to capitalise on those people whose mindset has changed, mobilise them and get them to take action.”

Watching Verel walk with his Extinction Rebellion flag through the streets of Bristol, with such a calm and determined demeanour, you can’t help but feel a swell of pride. He’s a shining example of a rising leader, inspiring others in his wake.

We can learn from the younger generation about the power of resilience and let their passion be infectious, compelling us to tackle climate change in whatever way we can, drawing on our own experiences.

Verel waves goodbye from his doorstep, gently shutting the door. You can imagine him slowly climbing back up those stairs to his hub of activism with thoughts of the shifting Goa seawater bouncing around his head.

It’s now down to us all to stop that tide from creeping ever closer to the shore.

You can find Verel on Instagram @verelrodrigues and on LinkedIn