A Climate Change with Matt Matern Climate Podcast

A strong believer in the power of reconnection, Antoinette leads us towards re-connecting all the dots: “from the ocean to air and to earth; to our hearts and minds back to positive action in our ecosystem”. A beautifully calibrated ecosystem that now feels like the game of Jenga. If you take a piece out, everything falls down: “That’s what we’re doing; we’re pulling parts away without caring.”

In Antoinette‘s eyes, action equals hope. Her journey is an interesting mix, as it stands at the intersection of combating the negative impacts of fossil fuel extraction, human health, social justice, gender equality, food packaging, overfishing, sharktivism, and deep seabed mining. She is the Co-founder of the Gallifrey Foundation, an organization with a focus on collaborative paths for ocean protection. However, raising her voice for the voiceless started as follows:

“It all began via fish. If you’re a fish in the ocean, now you don’t have time to reproduce, you don’t have time to hide. Because wherever you are, you’re going to get found. If you must migrate somewhere, you’re caught by someone else. I realized these creatures have no one speaking up for them, so my mission is to speak for the young, those who cannot speak, and who cannot defend themselves!”

This is the reason why she founded SHE Changes Climate, a campaign organization that helps get more women into top-level negotiation positions at COPs. This means more diversity and inclusivity thinking, which translates into richer perspectives and more solid-rounded solutions. Right now, Antoinette believes we don’t have the right people in power to make the change. We need more decision power for those who are the most affected by the real issues today:

“Where are youth, indigenous peoples, and women in the high levels of decision-making today? We need all these groups present and able to talk without having to conform to the male-business-oriented model we have used for the last millennia!”