S4: Prof. Hans-Otto Poertner

In this episode, I reflect on the wisdom, insights, and lessons learned that Kim Wasserman, Hilton Kelley, and Diane Wilson shared throughout the season. I examine the different topics and themes that all three speakers bring to try and understand the journeys they take in effecting change. I explore a range of topics including connection to place, community empowerment, the role of government, civil disobedience, the role of law and litigation, and sacrifice zones. For more information about the speakers, see the links below: Kim Wasserman - http://www.lvejo.org/ Hilton Kelley - https://www.cidainc.org/ Diane Wilson - https://dianewilsonactivist.org/ Thank you as well to the Goldman Environmental Prize - https://www.goldmanprize.org/ For more content, check out my substack at: https://podcastzero.substack.com/ Thoughts? Suggestions? [email protected]

Diane Wilson is a fourth-generation shrimper, former boat captain, author, and mother of five. She has launched environmental campaigns, demonstrations, hunger strikes, and climbed towers in the fight against local industrial polluters that make her rural Texas Gulf Coast community one of the most polluted in the country. She joins to discuss her connection to the San Antonio Bay Estuary, her fight against contamination in her community, the power of civil disobedience, and her successful $50m lawsuit against Formosa Plastics. Diane was the Goldman Environmental Prize recipient in 2023. For more content, check out my substack at: https://podcastzero.substack.com/ Thoughts? Suggestions? [email protected]

Hilton Kelley is Executive Director and Founder of Community In-Power and Development Association (CIDA). CIDA is located in Port Arthur, TX and works to challenge the environmental violations of the petrochemical plants that loom over the community he calls home. He joins to discuss the health impacts the community faces, the willful negligence of local and state regulators, the role of air pollution monitoring, and the vision he has for his community. Hilton was the Goldman Prize winner in 2011 and has received Presidential recognition for his achievements. For more content, check out my substack at: https://podcastzero.substack.com/ Thoughts? Suggestions? [email protected]

Kim Wasserman is the Executive Director of the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO), where she has worked since 1998. She joins to discuss her ten year campaign to close two local power plants, the importance of working together with various communities to effect change, and the intergenerational nature of community organizing. Kim was the recipient of the Goldman Prize for North America in 2013. For more content, check out my substack at: https://podcastzero.substack.com/ Thoughts? Suggestions? [email protected]

Prof. Youba Sokona has over 40 years of experience addressing energy, environment, and sustainable development in Africa. He is currently Special Advisor for the Sustainable Development at South Centre, was Inaugural Coordinator of the African Climate Policy Centre, and Executive Secretary of the Sahara and the Sahel Observatory. He is currently Vice Chair of the IPCC. Youba joins to discuss sustainable and climate resilient development, and energy development in Africa.

Prof. Joyashree Roy is Chair Professor at the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand, and has been a Coordinating Lead Author in Fifth and Sixth assessment cycles for Working Group III as part of the IPCC. Her research interests include resource and environmental economics, economics of pollution and climate change, sustainable development, and more. Joyashree joins to discuss demand-side emissions reductions and the effort to reduce energy demand while assuring wellbeing.

Dr. Yamina Saheb is a lecturer and researcher at SciencesPo (Paris), a lead author of the IPCC report on climate change mitigation, and a Senior Fellow at OpenExp. She was previously Senior Fellow Researcher at the University of Munster and University of Lausanne, where her research focused on energy efficiency. Yamina joins to discuss the role of the built environment on climate emissions, the concept of sufficiency, and the need for individuals in democracies to act as citizens as opposed to consumers.

Prof. Minal Pathak is Associate Professor at Ahmedabad University as well as Senior Scientist for IPCC Working Group III. Her publications focus on low carbon scenarios for India, demand-side mitigation actions and their interlinkages with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Minal joins to discuss deep decarbonization, the need to rapidly scale up climate change mitigation strategies, and the efforts made to engage with local and regional leaders to develop climate action plans.

Prof. Hans-Otto Poertner is a physiologist and marine biologist at the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre. He explores the impact of climate change on ecosystems and physiology, with a focus on polar and marine regions. He is currently Co-Chair of the IPCC's Working Group II and was previously Coordinating Lead Author of Oceans Systems Chapter. Hans-Otto joins to discuss the relation between humans and ecosystems, the climate change implementation gap, and the need to rapidly transform society away from fossil fuels.

Muhammad Irfan Tariq has over 32 years of experience working in the public sector in Pakistan's federal and provincial governments focusing on policies, programmes, and projects related to environment, climate change, and sustainable development. He was most recently the Director General of Pakistan's Ministry of Climate Change where he led the provision of strategic guidance on climate change policy. Irfan joins to discuss the impact of climate change on Pakistan, the adaptation policies the ministry has implemented, and additional capacity building and localization efforts needed within the country.