“World is on fire” - acclaimed author on the burning case for a Green New Deal

Ms Klein was speaking in conversation with former Labour leader Ed Miliband MP at an event hosted by the Grantham Institute – Climate Change and the Environment and the Institute for Public Policy Research Environmental Justice Commission .

“We need to connect what is being done to the planet, with what is being done to the people. At the heart of this crisis is overconsumption and a way of life that isn’t sustainable,” said Ms Klein, who likened extractive industries with the gig economy. “We can’t exhaust people, or nature. Less ‘dig and gig’, more ‘care and repair’”.

The event was held at Imperial College London, where the Grantham Institute is one of six global challenge institutes that promotes inter-disciplinary working to meet some of the greatest challenges faced by society.

The event focused on the Green New Deal, a visionary agenda that aims to tackle climate change and social inequality together. The discussion explored how the bold ideas and action within it could avert climate catastrophe and be a blueprint for a just and thriving society.

Mr Miliband, who represents a working-class constituency in the north of England, emphasised that the environmental crisis must be considered within a social and economic context, rather than in isolation. He also spoke about the need to balance warnings about the climate crisis with dreams of a better future: “Martin Luther King [Jr] didn’t say, ‘I have a nightmare’; he said, ‘I have a dream’”.

15-year-old Scarlett Westbrook, Community Engagement Coordinator of the UK Student Climate Network and the youngest person in the UK with an A-level in Government and Politics, introduced Ms Klein and Mr Miliband by explaining why she was striking for the climate.

“Climate change is the biggest crisis we have ever faced, but our government isn’t passing the legislation deemed necessary by scientists”, she said. “The less privileged will disproportionately bear the brunt of climate change – which is why climate justice and social justice must go hand in hand”.

There is a huge generational shift going on right now. I’ve never seen anything like it in my lifetime, and I believe in it. Naomi Klein

Ms Klein described the activism of school strikers like Miss Westbrook, and environmental groups like Extinction Rebellion, as the biggest climate action in the history of the planet. “We owe a lot to Extinction Rebellion and the student strikers for creating spaces for people to come together. The sense of emergency is coming up from below and the political class now feel the need to respond.

“The world is on fire. We are up against forces protecting an extraordinary amount of capital. But there is a huge generational shift going on right now. I’ve never seen anything like it in my lifetime, and I believe in it.”

“As individuals, we should do what we can to lower our carbon footprint. It’s a good thing to do, and in many cases, it will make our bodies healthier,” said Ms Klein in response. “However, lots of people don’t have access to the kind of things they need to make those changes – such as healthy food or electric cars.

“It’s important for the environmental movement not to be an overwhelmingly white, privileged movement, as that doesn't represent those most impacted by the extractive economy. It needs to be a working-class movement.”

Watch a video of the discussion: