Grassroots and community leaders from around the world share how climate change, pollution, and fossil fuel extraction are impacting their communities. From Vietnam to Ghana, Nigeria to India, we hear from activists across the world to understand their perspective on the climate crises and the ways they encourage leaders to move forward. Presented by the International Climate and Policy Campaign.
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Episodes
Episode One: Melissa Kowara, Indonesia
Melissa Kowara from Jakarta, Indonesia is a toymaker turned climate activist focused on systemic change and "economy of the people." Melissa is part of the climate activist group Extinction Rebellion, which has a choir song about people power that Melissa translated into Indonesian. The song appears in the episode. Read the episode one transcript.
Episode Two: Gerry Arances, Philippines
Gerry Arances began as a student activist in the Philippines: he's worked to stop fossil fuels from coal to liquid natural gas from warming the world and destroying his home. He is currently the executive director of the Center for Energy Ecology and Development in the Philippines and convenes a broad coalition called Power for People. Read the episode two transcript.
Episode Three: Raya Famau, Kenya
Activist Raaya Ahmed talks about the government harassment she faced after speaking out against a plan to build a coal power plant in the UNESCO World Heritage site of Lamu, Kenya. Read the episode three transcript.
Episode Four: Anuradha Munshi, India
Anuradha Munshi cannot see the skyline in Delhi, India. It’s that polluted. It’s even worse in neighboring Singrauli. Anuradha works for the Center for Financial Accountability, based in India, and she is working to hold the institutions responsible for this pollution accountable. Read the episode four transcript.
Episode Five: Richard Matey, Ghana
Richard Matey is the coordinator for the Alliance for Empowering Rural Communities, a local NGO based in Ghana that works on energy, climate change issues in agriculture. After learning about export credit agencies, Richard wants to throw more light onto their work so that people get to know who they are and what they do, like financing support for dirty energy. Read the episode five transcript.
Episode Six: Melinda Janki, Guyana
Melinda Janki is a lawyer, leading the fight to protect Guyana from dangerous deepwater drilling. Guyana used to be clean and quiet, but now the once lush forests are scarred from mining. Read the episode six transcript.
Episode Seven: Olanrewaju Suraju, Nigeria
Olanrewaju Suraju is the chair of Human and Environmental Development Agenda Resource Center (HEDA), based in Nigeria. When oil and gas were discovered in Nigeria, it changed everything. He shares how it’s taking a daily toll on his community and the planet. Read the episode seven transcript.