Actions that change systems

Elizabeth is Professor of Environmental Politics at the University of Edinburgh, School of Social and Political Science. She is Deputy Head of Politics and IR, Programme Co-Director for the MSc Global Environment, Politics and Society. Elizabeth's primary research activity falls into the broad area of comparative environmental politics, with particular emphasis on activism, climate change, shale politics and community energy. Along with colleague Nicola McEwen, Elizabeth led EnGAGE, a UKERC-funded project on grassroots mobilization and energy governance in Scotland.

Khairani Barokka is Editor of Modern Poetry in Translation, and a writer and artist from Jakarta, whose work has been presented widely internationally, and centres disability justice as anticolonial praxis and environmental justice. Among her honours, she has been Modern Poetry in Translation's Inaugural Poet-in-Residence, a UNFPA Indonesian Young Leader Driving Social Change, an Artforum Must-See, UK Associate Artist at Delfina Foundation, and Associate Artist at the National Centre for Writing (UK). Okka's work includes being author-illustrator of Indigenous Species (Tilted Axis), author of Rope (Nine Arches), and co-editor of Stairs and Whispers: D/deaf and Disabled Poets Write Back (Nine Arches). Her most recent installation was at Museum Nasional for Jakarta Biennale, and her latest book is Ultimatum Orangutan (Nine Arches), shortlisted for the Barbellion Prize.

Alice C. Hill is an expert on building resilience to catastrophic risks. She previously served as Special Assistant to President Barack Obama and Senior Director for Resilience Policy on the National Security Council. Prior to this, she served as senior counselor to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). After years of working alongside public health and resilience experts

crafting policy to build both pandemic and climate change preparedness, Alice currently serves as the David M. Rubenstein Senior Fellow for Energy and the Environment at the Council on Foreign Relations. In 2020, Yale University and the Op-Ed Project awarded her the Public Voices Fellowship on the Climate Crisis.

George Monbiot is an author, Guardian columnist and environmental activist. His best-selling books include Feral: Rewilding the Land, Sea and Human Life; Heat: How to Stop the Planet Burning, and Out of the Wreckage: A New Politics for an Age of Crisis. George co-wrote the concept album Breaking the Spell of Loneliness with musician Ewan McLennan, and has made a number of viral videos. One of them, adapted from his 2013 TED Talk, How Wolves Change Rivers, has been viewed on YouTube over 40m times. Another, on Natural Climate Solutions, that he co-presented with Greta Thunberg, has been watched over 60m times. George’s latest book, Regenesis: Feeding the World without Devouring the Planet, was published in May 2022.

Vanessa Nakate is a climate justice activist from Uganda and founder of the Africa-based Rise Up Movement and the Green Schools Project. She began striking for the climate in her hometown of Kampala in January 2019, after witnessing droughts and flooding devastating communities in Uganda. She now campaigns internationally to highlight the impacts of climate change already playing out in Africa, as well as promoting key climate solutions such as educating girls. In 2020, Vanessa was named a UN Young Leader for the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as being listed one of the BBC's 100 Women of the year and the 100 most influential young Africans.

Mitzi Jonelle Tan is a full-time climate justice activist based in Metro Manila, Philippines. She is the convenor and international spokesperson of Youth Advocates for Climate Action Philippines (YACAP), the Fridays for Future (FFF) of the Philippines. She is also an organizer with FFF International and FFF MAPA (Most Affected Peoples and Areas) making sure that voices from the Global South are heard and amplified. She decided to commit her life to activism in 2017 after integrating with the Lumad indigenous leaders of her country which pushed her to realize that collective action and system change are what we need for a just and green society.

Climate activist, environmental scientist, sustainability communicator, and ethical influencer. Laura advocates for environmental education and climate justice. Her social media platforms have created a community of activists under the platform Less Waste Laura. Laura is currently working on a PhD between the University of Abertay and the University of Dundee as a Hydro Nations Scholar in climate resilience. You can hear her regularly on BBC Radio Scotland, BBC Radio 5Live, STV and Sky News. She works with businesses of all sizes, and the Scottish Government, to pursue environmental sustainability. She has a variety of voluntary positions, including the 2050 Climate Group, Scottish Wildlife Trust Young Leaders, and the Marine Conservation Society Youth Ocean Network.