By Kumi Naidoo
We live in a moment of profound contradiction. Humanity has never had a greater scientific understanding of the climate emergency and the biodiversity crisis, yet we continue to act as if we have time to spare. The reality is harsh: both crises are accelerating faster than predicted, and their impacts are already devastating lives and livelihoods, particularly across Africa and elsewhere in the global south where 88% of the world’s population lives.
Africa contributes less than 4% of historical greenhouse gas emissions, yet it is one of the most climate-vulnerable regions in the world. Floods in Libya, drought in the Horn of Africa, and cyclones in Mozambique and Malawi remind us that climate change is not a future threat — it is here already. Layered on this is a biodiversity emergency: forests cut down, soils depleted, oceans overfished, and species disappearing at rates unseen in human history.
These two crises are not separate — they are twin emergencies, driven by the same extractive, profit-driven economic model.
What is at stake is not only the environment, but the very foundations of human dignity, justice, and survival. The poorest communities, who have done the least to cause these crises, are being hit first and hardest. Women, youth, and Indigenous peoples are carrying disproportionate burdens while also offering some of the most powerful solutions. From seed-saving movements to forest guardianship and climate litigation, people across Africa and the world are already showing pathways forward.
Just as critical as policy, science, and economics is the role of arts and culture in telling this story. Numbers, facts and statistics alone rarely move people to action, but music, poetry, theatre, film, and visual arts can awaken hearts, shift mindsets, and mobilise communities. This is why artivism — the fusion of art and activism — is becoming a central force in climate and biodiversity struggles. It ensures that these crises are communicated not just as technical problems but as human experiences, rooted in emotion, creativity, and
solidarity. Artivism helps people see themselves as agents of change rather than just victims, and it creates the cultural momentum needed to make solutions people-driven rather than imposed from above.
But let us be clear: incremental reforms and market fixes will not deliver the scale of change required. We need deep systemic transformation. That means ending our addiction to fossil fuels through a just transition that does not leave workers and communities behind. It means reimagining food systems so that biodiversity is protected, and farming is aligned with ecological balance rather than chemical dependency. It means recognising that social justice and environmental justice are inseparable.
There are signs of hope. The growing Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty movement calls for international cooperation to phase out coal, oil, and gas fairly and fast. Youth movements across Africa are rising up with courage and clarity, demanding climate justice. Courts are increasingly ruling against governments and corporations for failing to protect people’s right to a safe climate. And communities are building resilience through agroecology, renewable energy cooperatives, and land-based conservation rooted in equity.
Still, the scale of the challenge is daunting. We are running out of time; and denial, delay, and distraction remain powerful forces. Yet despair is not an option. The lesson from African struggles for liberation is that even in the darkest moments, ordinary people can and do change the course of history.
As we confront the climate and biodiversity crises together, the question is no longer whether we can afford to act. It is whether we can afford not to. The cost of inaction is measured in lost lives, collapsed ecosystems, and stolen futures. The cost of action is measured in courage, solidarity, and imagination.
Africa has always been a continent of resilience, resistance, and renewal. If we are bold enough to learn from its peoples and ecosystems — and if we harness the transformative power of arts and culture — Africa can also be a beacon for the just and sustainable world we desperately need.
This blog was published after PLAAS’s Living Landscapes in Action Masterclass with Kumi Naidoo on 15 October.
