Welcome to the sixth episode of the Hali Hewa Podcast.
‘Hali Hewa’ is a Swahili term for ‘climate ' and this podcast series is hosted and produced by Kenyan climate activist, Abigael Kima.
In the lead up to the COP27 international climate negotiations, which are taking place in a few days’ time, Abigael interviews African climate change experts and activists on the issues that matter most to them. Guests sign off each episode by sharing what they feel are their expectations for COP27.
Our guests today are Ina-Maria Shikongo and Tzeporah Berman.
Ina-Maria Shikongo from Namibia is an artist, fashion designer, activist — and celebrates the power of being an African woman every day. Vowing to stop planetary disaster, she has rallied humans from across the world to stop a Canadian company from drilling for fossil fuels in her country, Namibia. The Okavango Delta is home to some of Africa’s most ancient communities, and the largest surviving elephant herd. Canadian oil & gas company, ReconAfrica, has already begun exploratory drilling in the region.
Tzeporah Berman is a Canadian environmental activist, campaigner and writer. She has been designing environmental campaigns and working on environmental policy in Canada and beyond for over thirty years. She is currently the International Program Director at Stand.earth and the Chair of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative. She is the Co-Founder of the Global Gas & Oil Network, the former Co-Director of Greenpeace International's Global Climate and Energy Program, and the Co-Founder of ForestEthics (now Stand.earth). In 2019, she received the Climate Breakthrough Project Award which aims to drive breakthrough global strategies on climate change, and in 2021 she gave a widely-viewed TED Talk presenting the case for a global treaty to phase out fossil fuels.
In this episode, Ina-Maria and Tzeporah both speak to their individual experiences as frontline environmental and climate defenders. They share their views about what fossil fuel development and expansion implies for countries across the African continent, and Ina-Maria tells us about a new oil well in the Okavango Delta (a UNESCO world heritage site) that is threatening an entire ecosystem.
The conversation is rich and wide-ranging, unpacking concepts like petro-colonialism, and explaining why so many people believe so strongly that projects like the controversial East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) should not be a part of Africa's energy development.
Tzeporah tells us about the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty campaign and why African leaders, organizations and individuals might want to support the initiative. And she helps us to join the dots between Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine , the rush to develop gas in Africa and the new civil society campaign “Dont Gas Africa”.
Ina-Maria and Tzeporah sign off the show by sharing what they want the upcoming COP27 climate conference in Egypt to deliver.
Enjoy the show!
Links:
DON`T GAS AFRICA Campaign - [ Ссылка ]
Article co-authored by Ina-Maria and Tzeporah - Fossil Fuel Extraction Threatens Africa’s Remaining Elephants (Independent Media Institute)
