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Kumi Naidoo: 'Pessimism is a luxury we simply cannot afford'

May 13, 2025

How can we phase out coal, oil and gas to at least slow down global warming? An interview with former Greenpeace director Kumi Naidoo.

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Kumi Naidoo: "Pessimism is a luxury we simply cannot afford."

How can we phase out coal, oil and gas to at least slow down global warming? We talked to Kumi Naidoo Fossil: former Greenpeace director and now president of the Fuel Non-Proliferation
Treaty Initiative. He says the main obstacle to a rapid phase-out are lobbyists and their efforts to keep the fossil fuel industry in business until the end of the century with the help of state subsidies. Removing that support, he adds, would make solar and wind power as well as geothermal and biomass energy competitive. Naidoo also believes that climate justice activism has been less effective due to aiming all its messages at the brain instead while ignoring the heart, body and soul – and that the narrative needs to be more people-centric.

Louise Osborne, Chief Climate Reporter DW
Louise Osborne DW's Chief climate reporter provides expertise on the defining crisis of our time.