The teenage creator of an international organisation set up to translate climate change literature into dozens of languages helped close a major conference for young people on Saturday.

Sophia Kianni, 19, the keynote speaker at the Youth Climate Summit at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute, said the island’s commitment to the environment had impressed her.

She added: ”I loved watching a presentation about how members of the community have been able to come together to form cages and put them in the water to protect the seagrass.

“There are a number of awesome initiatives that are being implemented in Bermuda, such as the all electric bus fleet.”

Ms Kianni, an American of Iranian ancestry, set up Climate Cardinals, which translates climate information into more than 100 languages.

She is also the youngest member on the United Nations’ Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change.

Ms Kianni said: “The biggest thing I think people can do when it comes to climate change is voting.

“We need to curb emissions from companies from across the globe in order to meaningfully tackle the climate crisis and make our infrastructure more sustainable.”

She added: “I have only been old enough to vote for a year now but even before, a lot of the work I was doing was around getting out the vote and organising and working with different politicians.”

She added: “I was talking to my relatives about which politicians I thought were truly committed to climate action.

“Young people can get involved in voting advocacy campaign even if they can’t vote yet.”

Ms Kianni said it was vital that young people get involved in campaigns to protect the environment.

She added: "It is our generation that has the most to lose and that is going to inherit the crisis.

“We are not held back by corporate interests, we are not being funded by anyone.

“We are doing this because we truly care and we are anxious about the issue. That is why we are so committed to the cause – it is pure activism and advocacy.”

Young Bermudians said the conference, which ended today, was “inspiring and empowering”.

Ava Gibson, 16, said the event highlighted how individuals could make a change and help to avert climate disaster.

Ava added: “It has been really insightful we have heard from a wide rage of speakers.

“We listened to non-governmental organisations and people from different countries and learned about how we can model ourselves on what they are doing.”

She said: ”We can really make a change and it starts with changing little things in our lifestyle, making sure we are being more sustainable, throwing away less trash – but we can also do things on a larger scale.

“It is an interesting opportunity to be able to lobby our lawmakers to really make change. It has been interesting, inspiring and empowering.”

Tejah Bean, 14, added: “Bermuda contributes to climate change, even though it doesn't seem that way because we are small, but we still have to do our part in becoming carbon neutral.“

Nathan Wilson, 16, said: “This whole weekend, this whole process has really opened my eyes.

“It shows that this planet is in a worse state than we think it is and we really need to act on it fast before it’s too late.”

The summit, which started on Monday at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute, involved young activists from around the world.

Most attended on a virtual basis, but Ms Kianni appeared in person.

Jerome Foster II, a 19-year-old climate change activist and Biden White House adviser appeared by video link.

Mari Copney, a 14-year-old campaigner from Flint, Michigan, who helped highlight the lead contamination water crisis in the city when she was only 8, also took part, as well as Forbi Perise, a 23-year old environmental activist from Cameroon, who has attracted international praise for his conservation work.

The summit also featured a range of experts, including Isabel Rivera-Collazo, an assistant professor of biological, ecological and human adaptations to climate change at the Department of Anthropology and Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California.