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Kumi Naidoo

Passionately involved in liberation struggles from a young age, he continues to speak truth to power across the range of Greenpeace campaign activities around the globe. He is dedicated to engagement, dialogue and change and seeks a green and peaceful planet for all the world’s inhabitants.

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  • Thank you for letting me be a part of your journey

    Blogpost by Kumi Naidoo - December 22, 2015 at 14:36

    © Andreas Schoelzel / Greenpeace

    Dear Friends, 

    As I look out my window here in Amsterdam, winter is nearly here, and with it comes the retreat of another year, and the passing of what has been to make way for the spring and the new. As the days get shorter and the weather colder, I'm thinking ahead to days of renewal and new beginnings.

    As many of you know, I'm soon moving on from my post as Executive Director of Greenpeace International. I don't think of it as leaving Greenpeace, however. I think of it as exchanging my lofty title for a far more powerful one: that of a Greenpeace Volunteer. It's been an amazing journey with all of you, and I've loved every minute of challenge, every day of struggle, every week of progress, every month of triumph, every year we've been building a better world together.

    It's hugely gr... Read more >

  • COP21: shows the end of fossil fuels is near, we must speed its coming

    Blogpost by Kumi Naidoo - December 13, 2015 at 11:18

    The wheel of climate action turns slowly, but in Paris it has turned. There’s much in this deal that frustrates and disappoints me, but it still puts the fossil fuel industry squarely on the wrong side of history.

    Climate Action and Indigenous Rights Demand in ParisGreen groups and indigenous communities stood together in their demand for climate action and Indigenous Peoples Rights at COP21. Aurora, the famous Greenpeace giant polar bear, was brought to Le Bourget in Paris to add pressure on governments to agree an ambitious climate deal.9 Dec, 2015 © Joel Lukhovi / Survival Media Agency

    Parts of this deal have been diluted and polluted by the people who despoil our planet, but it contains a new temperature limit of 1.5 degrees. That single number, and the new goal of net zero emissions by the second half of this century, will cause consternation in the boardrooms of coal companies and the palaces of oil-exporting states and that is a very good thing. The transition away from fossil fuels is inevitable.

    Now comes our great task of this century. How do we meet this new goal? The measures outlined simply do not get us there. When it comes to forcing real, meanin... Read more >

  • #ActionsforClimate—but still not enough

    Blogpost by Kumi Naidoo - September 28, 2015 at 12:10

    The last few days have, for once, seen world leaders and the global media focussed on the big issues of our time: poverty, inequality and the dangers of climate change. President Obama admitted he acted too late on climate change and agreed with China´s President Xi Jinping on very significant —if still insufficient—additional actions. The Pope called on governments to act, not just declare that they will, the UN agreed on a new to-do list for humanity, including giving energy access to all via more renewable energy and calling for an end to deforestation. Some 30 world leaders agreed at climate lunch that more needs to be done to shift to renewable energy and that they must agree in Paris on a long term clean energy vision. At the same time, thousands around the world joined the latest...

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  • Honouring courage and compassion: Peace Day 2015

    Blogpost by Kumi Naidoo - September 21, 2015 at 15:16

    I was 22 years old when I had to leave my homeland, South Africa. I had no choice. I was living underground for a year by then, to avoid being arrested. This was 1987, in the midst of one of the most bloody and violent periods in the history of Apartheid South Africa. The green peaceful streets of Oxford, where I was lucky enough to end up, seemed like a cartoon to me. They seemed unreal, while the violence I left behind felt very real and near. I stayed awake at night thinking of friends and relatives left behind.

    I remember these feelings now every time I look at the heartbreaking images of people fleeing devastation – whether floods in Bangladesh or war in Syria. The images of desperate parents holding on to their children, trying to get them through barbed wired fences, or off small in... Read more >

  • The island nation rising up to be a hero for climate action

    Blogpost by Kumi Naidoo - August 13, 2015 at 17:39

    Kiribati, is a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean where the rising ocean is slowly encroaching on their community.

    Out in the central Pacific Ocean, straddling the equator and the International Date Line, lies an island group in Micronesia called Kiribati (pronounced 'Kiri-bas'). It’s not “famous” like Hawaii, Bali or Tahiti but its scenery is just as, or even more magnificent. Its’ flag – a bird flying over the sun as it sets on the ocean horizon – is testament to its peace, beauty and tranquility: stunning lagoons, white sandy beaches and a thriving traditional culture.

    But unfortunately, due to climate change, this entire island nation with a population of over 100,000 could disappear. After spending a few short days here I’ve been both inspired by the spirit of the people and concerned with the enormity of the problems they are facing. 

    The people of the low-lying islands of Kiribati, while bein... Read more >

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