Unleash Your Inner Rebel - A Conversation with Farhana Yamin

In this episode of Force of Nature, Clover sits down with Farhana Yamin - an environmental lawyer who has been at the highest level of international climate negotiations for over 25 years. In early 2019, Farhana joined Extinction Rebellion to glue herself to the pavement outside the Shell building in London. In this episode, Farhana and Clover discuss when to fight, how the key to solving the climate crisis lies in community, and why the flipside of how royally we’ve messed up the planet is how many ways there are to help it.

Episode notes

01:33 - 5:00) Farhana’s catalyst for glueing herself outside the Shell building; why non-violent direct action is essential for disrupting business as usual.

05:00 - 8:50) Behind the curtain of corporate greenwashing; how big oil dupes the public; and igniting a people’s based movement.

8:50 - 17:25) Why power does not give itself up; the power of Gen Z to shake up capitalism; and how change is starting at the grassroots with Think & Do.

17:25 - 28:00) Just as the problems are myriad, so too are the solutions; understanding if climate collapse is inevitable; and placing people and communities at the centre of climate action.

28:00 - 34:00) What inclusivity looks like on a global level; transforming the extractive economy; dissolving binaries; and the decentralised, grassroots solutions that inspire hope.

34:00 - 37:00) The role of intergenerational exchange; why the climate crisis is symptomatic of systems ripe for disruption; and how change ripples out.

37:00 - 45:05) Understanding the diversity of lived experience of all life on this planet; appreciating what’s right in front of us; and why action begins with imagination.


Top quotes

“Power does not give itself up without that demand.” - Farhana

“The invitation of creating new systems is what needs to ignite that individual agency.” - Clover

“Just as the problems are myriad, so too are the solutions. No matter what you're passionate about, there's a way for you to fit into the 7.6-billion-piece puzzle.” - Clover

“Our human response to a worsening climate in many cases has got to be to rebuild kinder, regenerative, more socially integrated, more just communities.” - Farhana


About the guest(s)

Farhana Yamin is the international climate lawyer responsible for getting the target of net zero emissions by 2050 included in the Paris accord. Farhana has advised world leaders and countries for over 20 years, and in addition to publishing numerous books and articles on the nexus of climate change and development, she is the founder of both Track 0 and Think and Do - the grassroots hub for community action.

Resources
Track 0- http://track0.org/
Think and Do - https://www.thinkanddocamden.org.uk/
Find Farhana on Twitter - https://twitter.com/farhanaclimate
An extended bio - https://www.chathamhouse.org/expert/farhana-yamin
Read about Farhana’s role in Extinction Rebellion in this Guardian article: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/19/farhana-yamin-extinction-rebellion-unglue-shell

About the host

Clover Hogan is a 21-year-old climate activist, researcher on eco-anxiety, and the founder of Force of Nature - a youth-led organisation empowering Gen Z to step up, rather than shut down, in the face of the climate crisis. She has worked alongside the world’s leading authorities on sustainability, within the...