Africa saw one of its own take over the top spot at Greenpeace International. Kumi Naidoo, from South Africa, was appointed executive director of the environmental campaign group. Naidoo has been leading civil society groups in Africa and internationally for the past two decades.
Historically Greenpeace has been at odds with governments in critical areas like nuclear power, energy, and climate change policy, but Naidoo has his own take on the issues.
The Greenpeace leader answered questions on energy and climate policy in an e-mail exchange with Green Inc. recently with those topics at the forefront of the interview. The group is looking toward the COP Top 15 event in Copenhagen to win over opponents to alternative energy sources. “The first priority is securing a fair, ambitious and binding deal in Copenhagen. From there we have to move to implementation. On the energy side, that means winning the argument that we can have a clean, sustainable power supply if we embrace existing technologies like wind and solar power,” Naidoo told Green Inc.
Naidoo said it is a priority to engage more people in this debate as change on a global scale will require popular support. “People understand that coal and oil are dirty and nuclear power is dangerous. However the coal, oil and nuclear industries have spent years building their political connections. It will take sustained public pressure to cut through that and get real change,” Naidoo said.