The Japan Times - Icarus' Future: A Miami-Born Campaign Telling COP30 Leaders Our Children's Future is at Stake - Just Won Seven LUUM Awards

MIAMI, FLORIDA / ACCESS Newswire / November 17, 2025 / Our Present, Icarus' Future reframes the delay on climate action by centering parents, children, and human stories - using a visceral installation, a global petition, and an art contest to translate feeling into civic pressure ahead of COP30. Because the policy choices made today will determine the life chances of children born this year.

Born on climate-vulnerable Miami Beach and amplified at Climate Week NYC, Our Present, Icarus' Future uses immersive storytelling to reveal how rising heat, sea-level rise, pollution, and extreme weather affect a child's lifetime to demand enforceable emissions cuts, an end to fossil-fuel subsidies, and limits on industry lobbying.

By connecting the cautionary myth of Icarus to today's climate crisis, the campaign not only is raising awareness but also mobilizing public support to put pressure on world leaders to act decisively. To date, it has engaged an estimated 38.2 million people across digital and traditional media platforms, received tens of thousands of petitions, and just won seven LUUM Awards (2 Gold, 5 Silver), recognized across Causes, Human Rights and Health categories.

The campaign is supported by Zubi, a creative agency specializing in culturally resonant, impact-driven work, and by VoLo Foundation, a family philanthropy that accelerates evidence-based climate solutions and community education.

"Winning at LUUM validates something we already believed: art can move people… and people move policy," said Yoca Arditi-Rocha, CEO of The CLEO Institute. "Today, as negotiators gather in Brazil, we ask leaders to make the hard choices: cut planet-warming emissions, end taxpayer subsidies for fossil fuel pollution, and keep industry lobbyists out of global climate talks. "World leaders: you are guardians of the future, not its auctioneers. At COP30, choose children over corporate profit. Every heartbeat matters."

"CLEO has masterfully used the myth of Icarus as a timely metaphor for the climate crisis. Just as Icarus' wings melted when he flew too close to the sun, our planet is at risk of a similar fate if we ignore the warnings of scientists. Icarus as a child, symbolizes the next generation who will inherit the world shaped by today's choices," said Thais Lopez Vogel, cofounder and trustee of VoLo Foundation.

"I think as humans, we've grown indifferent to messages. We're bombarded with information every day, tied to multiple screens, and we no longer take the time to really listen. We've become immune. To break through that noise, we have to be disruptive and be unexpected. Our approach was to use a "voice" that didn't speak with words, but whose life carried the message. A silent messenger, a baby, life itself, that made people stop and finally listen." said Iván Calle, VP Executive Creative Director of Zubi

Policy demands at COP30

• Enforceable, rapid emissions reductions and an accelerated pathway to phase out fossil fuels.

• An end to fossil-fuel subsidies and public financing that incentivizes planet-warming pollution.

• Safeguards that limit special-interest influence and prevent fossil-industry lobbying from shaping UN climate negotiations.

Learn more at: Act4Icarus.org

Why this matters now
Public funding continues to prop up the problem: fossil fuels receive roughly $1.5 trillion annually in direct subsidies and when indirect costs such as health and climate damages are included, support swells to roughly $7 trillion a year. Also, recent reporting last week shows a heavy fossil-fuel lobby presence at COP30; a dual political and financial barrier for these negotiations and the reason this campaign matters most now.

Cities and regions like Miami already face rising costs and compounding disaster risk: home-insurance rates, infrastructure strain, displacement and disproportionate impacts on frontline communities. With the US absent in this global stage, the world is watching COP30. Political choices made this November will shape whether nations accelerate an equitable transition or bake in greater harm for future generations. The time is now. Later will be too late.

Media opportunities
CLEO can provide on-camera interviews and a mother-centered story at COP30, campaign assets, video, petition and contest data.

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About The CLEO Institute

The CLEO Institute is a women-led, nonpartisan nonprofit turning climate science into action through education, advocacy, and community engagement. Florida-born and nationally recognized, CLEO has educated 62,000+ people in climate science, unlocked millions for local and state solutions, and is known for creative, award-winning campaigns. CLEO partners with government, business, academic, and community leaders to combat misinformation, mobilize civic power, and advance resilient climate policies.

About ZUBI

zubiad.com is a multicultural communications agency founded by Tere A. Zubizarreta in Miami over 50 years ago, which is now part of WPP's network. The agency is recognized as a pioneer in multicultural marketing in the USA.

About VoLo Foundation

VoLo Foundation is a private nonprofit Foundation with a mission to accelerate change and global impact by supporting science-based climate solutions, enhancing education, and improving health.

About the LUUM Awards

The LUUM Awards celebrate the world's best purpose-driven creative work - honoring campaigns that combine creativity with measurable social and environmental impact. LUUM's 2025 edition recognized agencies, NGOs and brands across five continents for outstanding communications that change hearts and minds.

SOURCE: The CLEO Institute

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

T.Kobayashi--JT