Roc Sandford on The Climate Emergency

What's the biggest challenge facing humanity? While the impact of COVID has been severe, an even bigger crisis awaits us if we don't take action. That crisis is the Climate Emergency and it's the subject of this episode. As the effects of climate change become more obvious, and the need to take action ever more urgent, I wanted to speak to someone at the forefront of trying to change human behaviour on a global scale.

That person is Roc Sandford, who is my guest on this episode. Roc is a member of Extinction Rebellion (XR) - an environmental movement, that started in the UK which is focussed on persuading governments to take action to stop climate change. XR's methods have been highly successful in terms of generating publicity, but they've also been met with criticism. Given they need public support to succeed, how can they balance the need to get the public's attention, with activities that might alienate the very people they need to get on board? That's what I explored in my discussion with Roc, where I asked him about his background, XR's mission and the thoughts he has about how they are approaching the challenge they've set for themselves. We also look at the human risks inherent in their approach - how can they attract a broad coalition, without the risk of individuals doing things that might put others off?

Roc's insights and arguments are fascinating. Not just about the environment, but also in terms of subjects like corporate governance - it might surprise you, but a democratic protest group has some ideas that might just help companies to improve the way they run things.

For more on Extinction Rebellion visit their website. In the UK that's https://extinctionrebellion.uk/
and outside the UK https://rebellion.global/

To learn more about Roc, you can visit his website: http://www.rocsandford.com/