Mariana Gomes is a Portuguese social entrepreneur and activist. A Fulbright Scholar, she studied Climate Change and Leadership in the U.S and Law between Portugal and Brasil. She is the founder of Último Recurso (UR), the world’s first youth-led climate litigation NGO. She currently leads Portugal’s first climate lawsuit against the State, a case that could impact over 10 million people and establish legal precedent across Europe.

She is the youngest member of the official advisory group to the President of Portugal. Mariana has also advised the United Nations on Critical Energy Transition Minerals and serves as a European Climate Pact Ambassador.

Mariana has been a delegate in more than 10 major international summits, including COP28, the UN Water Conference, the UNGA High-Level Week, the UN Summit of the Future and ECOSOC. She has delivered over 100 high-profile talks at global platforms including the Council of Europe, One Young World, UN Migration, the University of Cambridge, European Comission and the BMW Foundation.

Her work has been featured in Columbia University, Reuters, RFI, The Ecologist, Forbes, European Comission and national television.

She was named one of Europe’s 20 Young Leaders by the U.S. Department of State and one of Portugal’s 20 Most Influential Young People by Sábado, and was awarded in the “Next Generation” category of the Forbes Green ESG Awards 2025.