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130. Opening Hearts with Elizabeth Wathuti

67 min • 25 november 2021

With the ink still drying on The Glasgow Pact, we’re already hearing the results from Glasgow being labeled in binary terms like “Success” and “Failure” While we know that some stunning pledges and progressive language in the Pact came from some of the negotiations, it is also true that historically these pledges have not been met completely, or have been missed entirely. Full stop.

So with millions of humans suffering under the systemic injustice of rising global emissions, how do we meet this moment to reduce those global emissions and break those unjust systems of oppression? And how does the COP process make those necessary changes politically possible? And in the next eight years?!

Maybe it’s as simple as starting with silence.

This week we speak with Elizabeth Wathuti, environmentalist and climate activist from Kenya. She is the founder and president of Green Generation Initiative, and Head of Campaigns and Daima Consortium Coordinator for the Wangari Maathai Foundation.

Elizabeth brought the house down at COP26 this year with her speech in which she led a moment of silence followed by the urgency to every Head of State in the room to “ please open your hearts”. You won’t want to miss what she has to say to us on the show!

Stick around ‘til the end for an incredible music track from Knomad Spock!

Excerpt from Elizabeth Wathuti's speech at COP26, reproduced courtesy of the UN.

Excerpt from the Opening Ceremony of the World Leaders Summit at COP26, November 2021.

Available here: Elizabeth Wathuti at COP26 “Please Open Your Hearts” Speech

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Mentioned links from the episode:

Read: Martin Wolf’s piece in The FT

Thank you to our guest this week, Elizabeth Wathuti!

Elizabeth Wathuti