Idris Elba wants to use his platform to “shine a light” on those most affected by global warming.
Idris Elba
The 48-year-old actor has said that whilst there is “no shortage of voices” speaking out about climate change in general, he doesn’t think enough people are talking about the communities that “suffer” the most due to the impact global warming has on the world around us.
Speaking to Liz Bonnin for BBC Radio 5 Live’s new podcast ‘What Planet Are We On?’, he said: “There’s no shortage of voices talking about climate change and the green debate, but there’s not much visibility on the people that haven’t much at all and still suffer climate change.
“We look at small farmers as slightly unrelated to us, somewhere in the Sahara, but that food chain links to all of us.
“The effect is not apparent now, but it will be massively.”
Both Idris and his wife, Sabrina Dhowre Elba, are also keen on teaching Idris’ two children - daughter Isan, 18, and son Winston, six, whom he has from previous relationships - as well as any kids they may have in the future about the importance of doing their part to save the planet.
Sabrina said: “We’ve just got married. I want to have children one day and bring them into a world which I don’t think will be destroyed in the coming years.
“These farmers are probably the least contributors to the climate change problem but are yet being affected the most.
“This demand, which we saw go up with the pandemic, has always been an almost unreal demand. Food waste is no secret issue in the West and in the North.”
And Idris added: “My son is six years old and I want him to know Daddy went to Sierra Leone to look at agriculture. ‘What’s agriculture, Daddy?’ Well, it’s a way of growing food. It’s a way of looking after our world. And if we look after our world, it will supply us back.
“And that is something we should leave with the next generation. Even if it’s just not that everyone is going to be a great farmer but it’s the understanding of the food chain and food supply. That is really important.”
The couple are hopeful that people can make a real change to the current climate crisis, but insisted it requires the participation of everyone.
Idris said: “There is definitely something that we can all do. You are doing it now listening to this. There is hope.”
And Sabrina added: “There is a method, there are steps. It isn’t just throw your hands in the air and go, ‘The world is on fire.’ There are solutions and it’s figuring out what those solutions are and how we can each play a part because we do know that every person can make a difference.
“It is so easy to feel hopeless when you do hear all of that scaremongering but people can make a change. Each individual person.”
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