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At COP29, Theo James delivers a speech, helps launch Refugees for Climate Action Network
Theo James made an appearance at the 29th Conference of Parties (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan Thursday to help launch the Refugees for Climate Action of the UNCHR.
Lending his star power to the high level climate event usually attended by politicians and high-level government officials, "The White Lotus" actor made the case for refugees, making "sure their voices are heard" amid the worsening impacts of the climate crisis.
"Time is running out and the lives of some of the most vulnerable people are at stake," James said, as he drew from his family history.
"My grandfather is a refugee who fled the Nazi occupation of Greece and found a safe haven in Syria during the Second World War," he shared. From Syria, he joined the UN Refugee program and worked as a doctor in Sweden's Gothenburg.
According to James, it was this very story that "motivated" him to get involved with the UN Refugee Agency. Last month, he joined the team in Mauritiana, a country in the Sahara dessert, where climate shocks are often felt.
Apart from experiencing these climate impacts himself — like the unbearable 40C temperatures in the morning — James also met some climate refugees, from whom he not only learned about the untenable life that a worsening climate crisis promises all of us, but who also inspired him with their deep connection with nature and the small but sincere climate action they have been taking.
These climate refugees "have escaped war only to fight another battle with the impacts of climate change," James said.
"They are facing a food crisis, water crisis, a shelter crisis, and ultimately a survival crisis."
"Here at COP, I want to draw attention to the concerns of refugees for climate action because I’ve seen that the people who contribute the least in terms of carbon emissions are often the hardest hit by the climate crisis which is insanity," James said.
"The people I met in Mauritiana and refugees like them are urging our leaders to listen," he said, as he urged COP29 delegates to "act now to reverse" global warming and climate change."
"Delegates at COP need to take action today to protect people on the front line of the climate crisis. That is the only way we can help sustain an environment that will ultimately protect us," James said.
COP29 reportedly has more than 65,000 registered attendees spread out across its two weeks. Apart from the British actor, former Barcelona and Brazil national team player Ronaldinho also lent his celebrity to the the first week of the climate negotiations, where Parties will need to decide a new climate finance goal.
— GMA Integrated News
This story was produced as part of the COP29 Climate Change Media Partnership, a journalism fellowship organized by Internews' Earth Journalism Network and the Stanley Center for Peace and Security.
