Launch party: Climate Justice for Malawi

At long last, our exchange participants in the SEED program, unveiled what they have been working on during their exchange period: The report Climate Justice for Malawi: Securing Climate Financing for the Global South. 

The report examines how climate change has already affected the lives and livelihoods of Malawian farmers, and some of the most important policy changes needed to achieve climate justice for Malawi and the Global South. Important tools include climate financing and aid. Additionally, steps are needed to ensure debt cancellation as Malawi and other countries struggle to adapt to climate change while being burdened with unsustainable debt. 

Read the report in its entirety here. 

The four overjoyed SEED participants after the successful launch party. Left to right: Katinka M. Fenre, Grace Tapel Mwasi (bottom), Fedness Thole (top), Cari Anna K. King.

The report launch took place at Youngs in Oslo. The event kicked off with an engaging summary of the main takeaways from the report, courtesy of three of the SEED participants: Grace Tapel Mwasi, Katinka Marcussen Fenre, and Fedness Thole.

After the crowd was well-informed about the key points from the report as well as some of the challenges and opportunities Malawi faces, it was time for an exciting panel discussion. The discussion was expertly moderated by the fourth SEED participant, Cari Anna Korshavn King.

Fedness Thole engaging the audience.

The panel consisted of Elin Cecilie Ranum, Head of policy and information Department at Spire’s parent organization, the Norwegian Development Fund, Julie Rødje, Director of SLUG: Debt Justice Norway, and Torgeir Fyhri, Special representative for Climate adaptation and food security, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

The three panelists contributed in various ways to an enlightening discussion about topics ranging from debt relief, how the climate crisis affects aid, food security and soil health. They all complimented the participants on their report, highlighting its comprehensive and ambitious scope and how it connects climate financing and debt. 

The panelists listening to Julie Rødje talk about the importance of debt justice in. Left to right: Torgeir Fyhri, Elin Cecilie Ranum, Julie Rødje, and Cari Anna K. King.

After all this new information, the concert with the incomparable King George VIII and the King George Band provided us with a joyous experience. 

Thank you to everyone who attended and as well to everyone who contributed in making this event a success.