From Extinction Rebellion to September’s Global Climate Strike, the past year has seen a remarkable boom in climate activism as the reality of global warming has hit ever harder. Youth activists like Greta Thunberg have featured most prominently in a struggle that has greater implications for their generation than any other that has come before – but scientists, political leaders, artists and thinkers have also served on the front line of the battle for climate and environmental justice. Here are 11 such change-makers who brought their stories to Landscape News in 2019.
The 19-year-old Indigenous American discusses the pressure of fame, the role of music in his activism, and how to maintain hope in the face of great ecological and social adversity.
Veteran activist Bill McKibben looks back on the last three decades of climate change research and warns of a future dominated by artificial intelligence.
We review former Irish president Mary Robinson’s 2018 book Climate Justice, a collection of personal stories from the front lines of the climate crisis and an emotive call for action.
Mountaineer and filmmaker Taylor Rees reflects on the power of human-centered storytelling about climate change in the Earth’s remotest regions.
A two-part photo series on how young female Filipino watersports athletes are cleaning up their country’s waters.
South African creative agency I See a Different You explain how they combine art, photography and film to change public perceptions of Africa and call for climate action.
Qatari activist Neeshad Shafi on the challenges of communicating the climate crisis in the world’s largest oil-producing region.
We speak to Ghanaian musician and activist Rocky Dawuni on his U.N. ambassadorship, reasons for hope, and how the music industry can support climate justice.
Filmmaker Matthieu Rytz recalls his time in the climate change-threatened Pacific island nation of Kiribati, where he filmed his documentary Anote’s Ark.
Slow Factory founder Céline Semaan talks nature, consumerism and the fashion industry’s dubious track record on sustainability.
Finally…
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In this news roundup: more climate records fall, ECHR deems climate inaction a human rights violation and wartime hunger soars in Sudan
A Q&A with natural resources management specialist Patrick Ranjatson about the drought in southern Madagascar
In this news roundup: Azerbaijan ex-oil baron to lead COP29, global warming set to hit 1.5°C in 2024, and how solar geoengineering could work