Choosing Our Path: Confronting Climate Injustice and Creating Hope

Following on from my blog post on 20 years of Temwa & what we have learned. I wanted to share my perspective on the current situation, concern and hope, including the perspectives of climate scientists. As a country, Malawi is only responsible for 0.04% of global emissions, yet is in the top 5 countries to be most impacted by climate change. Therefore, naturally, as MD & Co-Founder of Temwa, understanding as many aspects of climate change as possible is part of my job, as well as my passion. Throughout my generation’s lifetime, we have been witnessing the climate rapidly changing and extreme weather becoming more common. Temwa’s work covers agriculture, forestry, health and education, all these programme areas are impacted by climate change. Crop production and forestry projects are affected by unusual weather patterns, including heavy rain & floods. When crop production is severely affected and low-income households struggle, early child marriage increases, making sexual and reproductive health projects more vital than ever. When flooding occurs, cholera outbreaks take place, and when villages are destroyed in hurricanes or cyclones, schools are used for temporary shelters and children’s education is impacted.

We are at a pivotal moment in human history, climate change scientists call this “the decisive decade” where humanity faces many different paths. One path is business as usual, which leads to a highly unstable future for all of humanity, where growing food in an increasingly warming world becomes much more difficult. On another future path, humanity rises to the challenges of the climate emergency, ecological breakdown & biodiversity loss, taking bold action to reverse course, and creating a more sustainable world with stability for most people. I want to choose the latter path, I choose hope and a sustainable future for as many people as possible, and I am committed to doing everything in my power to make it a reality. I urge as many people as possible to join me and choose this path, fighting for change, and working towards the future we want. It feels good to wake up every day knowing I am doing what I can. I have been through days of despair, I have felt deep grief and sobbed. Through reading the inspiring works of visionary academics and climate scientists, I have found hope. I’m not denying the current situation, I am fully aware of it. I am however aware of the future options, I’m aware that what we all do in the remainder of this decisive decade can have a huge impact.

In March 2024 the President of Malawi declared a state of disaster in 23 out of 28 districts due to large scale crop failure because of an extreme drought. In April, at the end of the rainy season, on the 5-hour drive between Mzuzu & Lilongwe, where you would normally see an abundance of green crops, we drove past countless failed crops. It’s not only Malawi that is feeling the deep impacts of climate change, extreme weather events are happening all over the world. In Spain last month there were devasting floods with 1 years’ worth of rain falling over 8 hours. In the USA, climate change fuelled the fury of hurricanes Helene and Milton. The flooding in East Africa has severely affected many, with 1.5 million people estimated to have been impacted . According to the 2024 Global Report on Internal Displacement, at least 6.6 million people worldwide were displaced by weather-related disasters by the end of 2023. Meanwhile, the Amazon’s rainforest has been suffering from unprecedented fires – this has hardly been reported in the media.

On the Climate Change Podcast | Outrage + Optimism. Tom Rivet-Carnac said that “Deep down, we all want a meaningful life where we have a role & opportunity to make the world better for other people & other species. That is what ultimately makes us happy. No generation has been given a bigger opportunity to do that than those of us who are alive now, and the next couple of generations. This is a great generational task that we can feel grateful for.”

Whilst on one hand it can feel a very challenging time to be alive. On the other hand, it could be an incredible time to be alive, if we can restore nature on a large scale, reverse humanity’s dependence of fossil fuels and we re-orient to ‘low carbon’ or ‘no carbon’ sustainable lives. Imagine how it will feel to witness the start of this transformation in our lifetimes. I feel a duty to do everything in my power to play a small role in getting humanity ‘back on track’. Let’s do everything in our power to ensure there are stable living conditions and food supplies for as many people as possible in the future!

We need to envision the future we want, but many people are not doing this. It seems that some people either don’t recognise the problem or imagine the worst-case scenario with a sense of helplessness – both attitudes lead to inaction! To quote Rebeca Solnit “the future is not written yet, we are writing it now”. We can all play a small or large part to write a different future, the future that humanity truly wants and deserves. I’ve recently discovered the work of Rob Hopkins, who as Co-Founder at the Transition Movement has seen what can happen when communities come together to reimagine and re-build our world. Rob Hopkins book, ‘From What Is to What If – Unleashing the power of the imagination to create the future we want’ is an incredibly inspiring read. In this brilliant podcast interview, Rob summarises his work and explains how incredibly inspiring it can be to work towards the future we want!

This year I had a conversation with a parent at the school gate who is a gardener. They expressed feeling “sad and powerless” in the face of climate change. But I truly believe we are not powerless—we have far more influence than we often realize. If we have the mental & physical resources, we can do so much more. Humanity is capable of far better than what we’re currently doing!

“Saving our planet is now a communications challenge,” according to David Attenborough. In large part, I agree, however it’s not the planet that we need to be concerned about, the planet will survive in some shape or form, it’s humanity, other species & eco-systems that are in peril.

When it comes to climate change, I find it baffling how uncomfortable some people in the Global North are when discussing it. In Malawi, however, people talk about climate change openly and freely, they are living with its harshest impacts. During my visit to Malawi in April, community members asked me directly about climate change, wanting to know what countries like Britain are doing to address it. I was candid, explaining that while we have the solutions and many people globally are working hard to tackle the issue, we are still not on track to reduce carbon emissions fast enough. There’s deep concern, but also time to turn this around—though, as a global society, we must act more decisively.

The legendary scientist Johan Rockstrom published a Ted Talk this Summer, he says “We Earth Systems Scientists & Climate Scientists are getting seriously nervous, the planet is changing faster than we have expected”. Yet at the end of this Ted Talk he says he is a “realistic optimist” and that “the solutions are available… solving the planetary crisis is not only necessary, it is possible.”

While I am deeply concerned about the devastating effects of climate change, especially in countries like Malawi, where those least responsible suffer the most, I struggle with the overwhelming injustice. Yet, dwelling in grief and rage won’t help. What is more helpful is to focus on ‘being the change we want to see in the world’, we can try to surround ourselves with positive people and environments. It’s wonderful being with people who comfortably talk about climate change, what they are doing to tackle it, they inspire me!

This Oxfam infographic clearly shows that the size of the global population is not the main driver of climate change (a common misconception). Climate change is being driven by the behaviour of the top 10% in terms of financial wealth). Many people in the UK are in the top 10%. There is no doubt that the Richest 1% are the main problem, with the richest 1% emitting as much planet-heating pollution as two-thirds of humanity. The richest 10 percent accounted for half (50 percent) of emissions. It would take about 1,500 years for someone in the bottom 99 percent (in terms of financial wealth) to produce as much carbon as the richest billionaires do in a year. This huge misconception that population growth is the big problem needs to be addressed. It’s the world’s wealthiest, who are clearly emitting far more pollution. In Rob Hopkins podcast ‘From What If to What Next’ (there are so many inspiring episodes on here!), episode 76, they discuss ‘What if cutting our individual carbon use went viral? imagine that! Imagine it becoming a ‘badge of honour’ if the wealthy in the global north took steps to ‘show off’ what they are doing to reduce their carbon emissions, as well as to support the restoration of nature? This could happen! Part of the problem is that so many in our global society think that humans are inherently selfish. Rutger Bregman in his brilliant book Humankind: A hopeful history proves that the opposite is true, and proves that in a time of crisis humans can truly pull together and help each other.

It’s clear that lifestyle choices impact on our contributions to climate change, and I sometimes try to raise this with those close to me. I realize that these conversations do not always land well, I do apologise if I have upset anyone along the way. This is not my intention. My worry comes from seeing the disconnect in our society when it comes to climate change. Though responsibility ultimately lies with the fossil fuel industry, governments, corporations and media, it’s also up to us to push for the changes we urgently need. The fossil fuel industry, governments & corporations got us into this mess, we cannot rely on them to get us out of this mess! In 2023, the fossil fuel industry was subsidised by 7 trillion US dollars. This is madness! We need to be taxing fossil fuel companies, not subsidising them. France wants to push for phasing out fossil fuel subsidies, Viva la France! We must act urgently and reduce fossil fuel consumption and increase nature restoration.

We have all recently lived through the COVID19 pandemic, the media relentlessly reported on this, everyone constantly talked about it. Yet the climate emergency in comparison, which will obviously have a much bigger impact on humanity and our future lives, is under-reported and many people don’t want to discuss it. I find this baffling!

However, there is still so much reason for hope, the following should be headline news;

I find it really important to follow climate scientists, educated climate activists and to understand the current situation from many different angles, as the situation regarding climate change is nuanced. For example, there was a recent article stating Trees and land absorbed almost no CO2 last year. Is nature’s carbon sink failing? The brilliant Rebecca Solnit & Climate Scientist Zeke Hausfather pointed out “The Guardian published an alarming summary of a report saying the land sinks (the way soil/plants sequester carbon, offsetting what we emit) was failing. The estimable Zeke Hausfather, a climate scientist, says not so fast. Here’s his arguments; The land carbon sink absorbed 9 GtCO2 in 2023, about a fifth of emissions. This represents a decline from 2022, but consistent with what we’ve seen in other big El Nino years.

While there are real future risks to the land sink, rumours of its death have been greatly exaggerated…But more problematically, it makes it seem like a negative net land sink is unprecedented. It isn’t. We had one in 2002, 1998, 1987, 1983, 1980, etc. It is historically not that uncommon, particularly in El Nino years.”

We are at a pivotal moment where we can change humanity’s trajectory. Significant progress has been made with renewable energy, but to achieve substantial emissions reductions, we must urgently transition energy, transport, and agriculture to low-carbon systems.

I started writing this article in October 2024 and it feels very poignant, as 6 years ago in October 2018, an IPCC report came out that changed my life. My daughter was 3 months old. I remember the moment I heard about the IPCC report on the News and I took very seriously the scientists’ warnings that we have 12 years to change the course of humanity. Our global society was not aligned to the incredibly important UN Paris Agreement. 6 years later, we are still not on track though many climate scientists say it is still possible to get on track.

At the time of publishing this article, the COP29 climate summit is close to concluding. The UN Secretary General opened the COP with the statement “The sound you hear is the ticking clock. We are in the final countdown to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. And time is not on our side,” he warned. Some climate experts stated UN climate talks are ‘no longer fit for purpose’ Christian Figueres (President of COP in 2015/Architect of the Paris agreement) stated “The COP process is an essential and irreplaceable vehicle for supporting the multilateral, multisectoral, systemic change we urgently need. Now more than ever.” This year’s COP had controversy as the CEO was filmed promoting fossil fuel deals and the President of Azerbaijan opened the COP describing oil and gas as a ‘Gift from God’. However, the G20 leaders meeting that also took place this week gave COP29 a boost as leaders backed scaling up climate finance from billions to trillions, The UK announced NDCs of 81% of CO2 emissions to be cut by 2035, which is bold & desperately needed. With other countries set to announce their NDCs in 2025, it’s essential to see bold steps to reduce carbon emissions. It’s important for us all to be aware Exceeding 1.5°C global warming could trigger multiple climate tipping points, humanity is getting closer to these tipping points, we have to do everything in power to avoid them. Watch Malawi’s Vice President Michael Usi address the COP29 climate summit where he explained how natural disasters such as floods, prolonged droughts and unpredictable weather patterns have destroyed lives and upended people’s livelihoods in the southern African nation.

Over the last 6 years I have supported many different climate activists’ movements. The media has done a fantastic job of villainising climate activists, there are so many negative articles about climate activists (which I assume can encourage judges to give incredibly harsh prisons sentences). There is a lawsuit against the British government to stop silencing climate protestors. Throughout history, activists have rarely been popular in the moment, the suffragettes (who won the Women’s right to vote) in the UK, as well as Martin Luther King and civil rights movements were deeply unpopular. Nelson Mandela was described as a terrorist by the British Prime Minister! People who worked to abolish slavery were also incredibly unpopular, some did not live to see the enslavement of African people abolished in law. All these activists were seen to be heroes in the history books, yet in the moment they were seen as a public nuisance. Tragically, humanity once again is demonising the wrong people. Climate activists who are raising the alarm are often attacked in the media, yet the fossil fuel industry (with their decades long misinformation campaign) are literally getting away with murder.

I have a strong dedication to addressing the climate crisis, driven by the imperative to secure a fair chance of survival and prosperity for individuals residing in countries such as Malawi. Additionally, I am committed to safeguarding the habitability of our shared planet for present and future generations. If you are worried about the future and climate change, then I urge you to do something about it, as taking action alleviates anxiety and also brings change. We need many more people raising their voices. Margret Mead, the famous anthropologist, said “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” What we need is a larger group taking action on climate, we need the group of people to grow, we need you.

What can we do.

Social Influence – Wake up your networks to how urgent the situation is that we are in, talk about climate change.

Influence politics & government – Write to your MP, keep writing and let them know how concerned you are. Lobby local & national governments. If you live in the UK, you can sign this petition to the government: Run a public information campaign on the climate crisis

Organise! Join a group – there are many campaigning organisations that you can join, from the gentle ones such as Climate Majority, Parents for Future, Friends of the Earth, WWF, 350.org or more middle-ground ones such as Greenpeace or Extinction Rebellion, to the more extreme ones such as Just Stop Oil and Sea Shephard. I have met some incredible people through becoming a climate activist and made some great friends. Through the Mothers Manifesto, I have met with many MPs for discussions in Parliament and feel I can have the most impact here. We need to bring system change through collective action. Change has happened before, with Martin Luther King’s civil rights movement, Ghandi, the suffragettes, Nelson Mandela, and it is happening again with the climate change movement. UN Secretary General António Guterres, speaking on the 4 April 2022: “Climate activists are sometimes depicted as dangerous radicals. But the truly dangerous radicals are the countries that are increasing the production of fossil fuels… Investing in new fossil fuels infrastructure is moral and economic madness.”

Shift Investments – Ensure your finances are not investing in damaging practices such as war, deforestation or fossil fuels.

Behaviour Change – Inspire the world and markets around you by ‘imperfectly’ being the change you wish to see, reduce meat & dairy consumption (80% of deforestation is for agriculture, 50% of agriculture is to grow food for animals) reduce carbon emissions through travel, fly less, drive less, use public transport more. Talk about the changes you make to friends & family!

Look after yourself & each other! Do what you can to ensure that you are staying physically & mentally healthy. Check in with your friends & family, let them know that you love them. We can practice gratitude daily, focusing on what we appreciate in life. We can visualise our goals and dreams with confidence. We can reframe challenges as learning opportunities instead of setbacks.