WATCH | Climate change: A Critical Conversation with Millen-Zs

Southern Africa is warming at twice the rate of the rest of the world, according to the Centre for Environmental Rights. Climate change is here, it is real, and it will affect younger generations, women and children most profoundly. 

“If we continue the way we are going, we can expect a catalogue of catastrophes from extreme heat stress, extreme weather events, rising sea levels, crop failures and food insecurity to various forms of economic collapse and social conflict. We have to change our path,” says CEO of Sanlam Investments Nersan Naidoo.

That’s why Sanlam Investments is hosting a series of Critical Conversations in 2022 to tackle the dynamics of sustainability and impact investing. 

These virtual thought-leadership sessions aim to drive critical thinking and learning by bringing together new or unknown perspectives, says Naidoo.

The first webinar in the series, titled “Climate for Social’s Sake”, took place on February 21 and featured an all-female panel of young climate activists. Together, they explored questions such as:

• How can citizens and investors contribute to climate action?;
• What types of climate solutions do we need to implement in SA?; and
• Why is it important for Millen-Z’s to actively participate in driving climate action?

The panel included:

• Ayakha Melithafa (19), the youngest commissioner on the Presidential Climate Commission in SA and public representative of the African Climate Alliance;
• Akhona Xotyeni (24), a Just Green Transition youth ambassador for the Royal Danish Embassy in SA and content writer for the World International Model UN;
• Morategi Kale (26), a PhD researcher in human geography at the University of Oxford, who was invited to attend COP17 after being named “best presenter” as part of the SA Institute of International Affairs’ environmental sustainability project;
• Luleka Dlamini (27), a PhD candidate between UCT and Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands, whose research focuses on climate-smart agricultural options for SA’s smallholder farmers. ; and
• Teboho Makhabane (33), ESG and impact implementation specialist at Sanlam Investments and adviser on sustainable investing.

Watch a recording of the event above.

This article was paid for by Sanlam Investments.