Living Landscapes in Action Masterclass: Kumi Naidoo – Where are we in addressing the climate emergency in Africa and globally?

Where are we in addressing the climate emergency in Africa and globally?

Abstract:
The climate emergency is no longer a looming threat — it is a lived reality, with Africa bearing some of the harshest impacts despite contributing the least to global emissions. From prolonged droughts and extreme floods to collapsing food systems, African communities are on the frontline of a crisis they did not create. At the same time, the biodiversity crisis is accelerating, eroding the natural foundations — soils, forests, oceans — upon which human survival depends. These crises are not separate; they are deeply interconnected and rooted in an extractive economic model that sacrifices people and planet for short-term profit. This masterclass will explore where we stand in addressing the climate and biodiversity emergencies, both globally and in Africa, and what pathways — rooted in justice, solidarity, and respect for nature — are still open to us. It will highlight the urgency of transformative change, but also the possibilities for collective action and resilience.

Bio
Kumi Naidoo is a South African human rights and environmental justice activist, who is currently the President of the Fossil Fuel Non Proliferation Treaty. He is the former Secretary-General of Amnesty International (2018-2020) and also the first person from the Global South to lead Greenpeace International (2009-2015).

Kumi Naidoo.

He is an advisor for the Community Arts Network. He serves as a global ambassador for Africans Rising for Justice, Peace and Dignity. His family has started the Riky Rick Foundation for the Promotion of Artivism to build on the positive legacies left by popular South African rapper Rikhado “Riky Rick” Makhado through his music and life’s work. Through this Foundation, he co-founded the Global Energising Artivism Initiative. Kumi is also the author of award-winning Letters To My Mother: The Makings of a Troublemaker and the host of the podcast Power, People and Planet.