In this Young Climate Story, Alfonse Chiu, a young climate researcher based between Singapore, Taiwan, and the United States, speaks about how the will to fight for a brighter future runs through the spirit of their generation. Chiu’s ongoing art and research project, Per Tropicata, draws parallels between hot money and financial liquidity, and the humid warmth of the tropical climate. Tracing the routes of capital in and out of the tropics, the platform aims to enable creative responses to the impacts of climate change and build solidarities across the Global South.

Chiu tells us about what motivates them, the global community they’ve found through YCP, and how they built a lasting friendship with their mentor, Paola Antonelli. Meanwhile, as senior curator of architecture and design at MoMA, Antonelli reflects on the power of design in solving the climate crisis, how she and Chiu both learned from one another during the mentorship, and why more brilliant young creatives should apply for the Young Climate Prize Cycle 02.