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Five movies to inspire you in 2017, from the Film4Climate competition

Here's a selection of movies from the Film4Climate competition that provide plenty of inspiration to take action to make a difference against climate change.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNev3tJRLi0]

2016 and climate: uncertainty, progress, inspiration and urgency

What a year.

2016 will be remembered. There is no doubt about that.

Some years come and go with little fanfare; containing a handful of celebrity deaths, the emergence of any number of new artists and the proliferation of the requisite number of political scandals that will top that year’s Wikipedia entry. But all in all, the totality of events contained within any loop around the sun tend to fall within a standard deviation. 2016, however, was anything but standard. 2016 will cast a shadow of uncertainty over 2017 as it begins. But true to its perplexing nature, 2016 will also carry over a legacy of significant progress, inspiration and a touch of urgency for a year many will be looking to characterize as the calendar switches over.

Uncertainty is one of those words mostly relegated to the private sector. Not in 2016. The volatility investors fear in commodities market came to the ballot box. Again and again. Say what you will about the election of Donald Trump election to the American presidency, but it was neither widely predicted nor the only political shift of the year. Brexit was supposed to be the big surprise of the year. Then you have the ousting of a Brazilian head of state, an impeachment in South Korea, an attempted coup in Turkey and the failed passage of a public referendum to bring peace to Colombia before a deal was finally struck. All that happened in the second half of 2016. This has created a global landscape that is the very definition of uncertainty, and with upcoming elections in France, Germany and the Netherlands highlighting the 2017 calendar, there is no guarantee things will become more certain this time a year from now.

"Say what you will about the election of Donald Trump election to the American presidency, but it was neither widely predicted nor the only political shift of the year," writes Andrew Schenkel. The White House in Washington, D.C. Photo Credits: Daniel Pinto Lopes

But it’s not all valleys. There have been plenty of peaks.

Through all the uncertainty that dotted the 2016 timeline, there was a remarkable amount of progress when it comes to the fight to contain climate change. Momentum didn’t end when the Paris Climate Agreement was reached in the end of 2015; it continued. On Earth Day in April, 175 nations signed the Paris Agreement, which sparked a marathon of domestic actions around the globe that lead to ratification after ratification in capitals from Belize to Zimbabwe. By October, enough countries ratified the agreement to bring it across legal thresholds and by the COP 22 meetings in Morocco, the Paris Agreement officially went into force. This is lightning speed for diplomacy, but that pace was matched when it came to renewable energy. Across the word, city and city kept announcing plans to go 100 percent renewable. During the third quarter of 2016, in the United States alone, 4,141 MW of solar energy was installed. That’s a 191% increase over the same quarter just one year ago. Around the world the Renewables now supply almost a quarter of electricity worldwide.

COP22 opening ceremony in Marrakech, Morocco. Photo Credits: Max Thabiso Edkins

In addition to the legitimate progress made in the transition away from fossil fuels, there are plenty of sources for inspiration within 2016. Years from now, the victory at Standing Rock will likely be remembered as a flashpoint for activism, with victory secured under the hardest conditions during very difficult times. With the people of the United States still in recovery mode after a divisive presidential election, “water protectors” from around the country joined forces with the people of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in South Dakota. After weeks of protests, frigid temperatures and combative conditions, the Army Corps of Engineers ordered a withdrawal of the pipeline project and now an alternative route must be found.

Connect4Climate received inspiring climate change solutions stories from young people around the world that raised their voices through the Film4Climate Global Video Competition. Photo Credits: Max Thabiso Edkins

Of course inspiration comes in many forms, and the sheer diversity of voices and faces calling for climate action is a theme that wove its way through a bumpy 2016. This was seen at Standing Rock where native peoples, war veterans and families from across America joined forces. It was also seen in numerous other climate initiatives throughout the year. We saw this in the Film4Climate global video contest. By the time the deadline came, more than 860 videos from 155 countries were submitted and the winners were truly globally representative. Awards went to filmmakers in the United States, France, Spain, Finland, Kiribati, Australia, India, Brazil, Greece, Morocco, and Laos. When the winners for the Film4Climate contest were announced in Morocco this November, there was no shortage of inspiration. Then after the first place film “Three Seconds” was shown, there was literally nothing but inspiration in the room. All of this inspiration will be needed for 2017.

And to add some fuel to the inspirational fire….a touch of urgency.

Urgency is a natural byproduct for a year like 2016. It’s not just because of the mashup of political uncertainty, diplomatic progress and flickers of inspiration, but it is due to some stark realities that show climate impacts are a now problem not a future problem. 2016 ended with the city of Beijing recording its longest string of red alert air pollution days in a row. The five-day red alert came out on the heels of reports that 2016 would at least be tied for being the warmest year on record (with 2015) and is likely to be the warmest year in history. In November, Arctic ice levels hit a record low, and we are now in “uncharted territory”, according to researchers. Equally depressing are reports of accelerated impacts to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef showing it suffered its worst bleaching ever in 2016 thanks to warmer oceans. And then there is the yearly wrap up of newly extinct species. In October, a major analysis found the number of wild creatures was on track to fall by two-thirds by 2020, compared to 1970.

A hazy day in Beijing, China. Photo Credits: Wu Zhiyi / World Bank

This is the true urgency of the the cause. Not the scorecard of national contributions nor the failure to reach certain benchmarks. Those are marks on a chart. The real indicators are in what we are losing; what we will no longer be able to see. That is where urgency comes from, and above all that is the most constructive thing to take away from an otherwise uncertain year. There’s still plenty to save and plenty to see.

Here’s to harnessing the urgency.

Banner and Thumbnail Images Photo Credits: Becker1999

Climate Week retrospective: Is 2016 the year of the “climate story”?

Every year, thousands of campaigners, businessmen, diplomats and everything inbetween descend upon New York City for Climate Week. In recent years, the week has carried particular significance as it coincided with United Nations General Assembly meetings where climate change was a top agenda item. This year, while the UN focused heavily on a number of other issues including the global migration crisis, the discussions of Climate Week focused on a wide range of issues that lie under the vast climate umbrella.

Shifting investments away from fossil fuels and towards the renewables was one topic. Figuring out the best ways to deploy solar power to the developing world as soon as possible was brought up in other venues. Making sure countries hold true to their commitments of Paris was the focus of many events, while working with Wall Street to figure out how to get fossil fuel companies to disclose their carbon risks was another common topic of the many discussions taking place in New York City during the third week of September. Of course, the topics were all connected by climate change, but there was another connection running through all these event: storytelling.

Everyone has a story to tell when it comes to climate change, and getting those stories out to the masses is clearly a priority for those calling for climate action. There’s a real story for everyone: from the investors on Wall Street to the families putting solar panels on rooftops near Main Street.

Image credit: Years of Living Dangerously

Nowhere was the power of climate storytelling on bigger display during Climate Week than during a screening of season two of National Geographic’s Years of Living Dangerously series at the Museum of Natural History. As far as celebrity power and the environmental movement go this was a pretty solid showing as former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger spoke ahead of the screening to a crowd he brought to laughter a number of times -a crowd that included both prominent environmentalists and superstars like Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen.

Bundchen and Schwarzenegger are among the hosts for each of the episodes in the Years of Living Dangerously Series. During the screening the two stories on display were David Letterman’s journey to India and Saturday Night Lives Cecily Strong's expose on politicians working to hold back the solar industry in Nevada and Florida. Letterman’s journey was funny, as expected, but it was quite revealing of the intertwined infrastructure and development challenges India faces. When it publically airs, this episode will be Letterman’s first television appearance since retiring from the Late Show with David Letterman. He now has a beard, which plays a prominent role in the episode. While Letterman used his typical wit to tell his story, SNL’s Cecily Strong took on a surprisingly serious tone during her episode documenting the tricks individuals are still willing to play despite their climate implications. Both episodes were powerful and both left the audience intrigued for more. They were good stories.

But the storytelling wasn’t just restricted to celebrities. Throughout Climate Week events focused on the narrative. When Bank of America announced it plans to go carbon-neutral; reduce location-based emissions by 50%, energy use by 40% and water use by 45% in its operations across the globe - all by the same 2020 deadline,” Andrew Pleper explained how building on previous commitments has to be part of the business story for taking climate action. “Together we can accelerate the transition to a more sustainable and low-carbon economy,” said Pleper during the opening ceremony of Climate Week. Former United States Environmental Protection Agency Administrator and current Apple Vice President of Environmental Policy and Social Issues picked up on Pleper’s line when Apple announced it too would be joining the RE 100 campaign and would be making significant investments in solar energy. “We have to be the ripple on the pond. We can’t just be 100% renewable energy, we have to bring others with us,” said Jackson. Even when real steps are being taken, it seems they are all coming with real narratives.

Over the last several years, progress in climate policy has clearly coincided with concerted efforts to make the issue more relatable. Climate change is a security issue, and over the last several years you have seen countless military personnel tell their climate stories. Climate change is a health issue and the stories of moms fighting for cleaner air or safer neighborhoods are permeating throughout the movement. Pope Francis’ climate messages, starting to gain traction a bit more than a year ago, created a religious narrative for those seeking to get involved, while those living on the front lines of climate impacts are increasingly making headlines. It’s all about the story.

Connect4Climate invited filmmakers between the ages of 14-35 years old from all over the world to share their climate stories on video.

Storytelling is the backbone of our Fim4Climate global video contest. When the Connect4Climate team of the World Bank decided to launch a film competition with numerous partners, rewarding those telling the best climate stories in a number of categories, the idea was to encourage more story telling, gather a diversity of perspectives and provide another venue for spreading these very real experiences.

As September drew to a close so to did the submissions for entries in the Film4Climate contest. With more than 860 entries from more than 150 countries it is becoming clear the demand for climate stories is being met with a steady supply. So while 2016 may not be known as the year the world reached a historic climate agreement like we had in 2015, perhaps it is the year of the climate story. If the last few weeks are any indication there are still plenty more to tell.

Key climate messages from a day at the UN General Assembly

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Climate Action in the Media Zone

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Following this, influential climate leaders gathered in the <a href="http://sdgmz.org/program/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">SDG Media Zone</a> for a discussion on “<a href="http://webtv.un.org/search/from-paris-to-marrakesh-progress-on-climate-…; rel="nofollow" target="_blank">From Paris to Marrakesh: Progress on climate change - #ParisAgreement</a>.” Facilitated by Dan Thomas, Communications Director, and Spokesperson, Office of the President of the 71st Session of the United Nations General Assembly, the discussion showed bold support for climate action. 
  
Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, highlighted that the Paris Agreement was “the first time that we can see such a collective response by the international community.” In turn, Hakima El Haite, Delegate Minister in Charge of Environment, Morocco, and COP22 Host, emphasized the intimate link between taking climate action and the Sustainable Development Goals. “Come to Marrakech with answers to people that are already suffering from the impacts of climate change,” El Haite said.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ClimateAction?src=hash">#ClimateAction</a> is sustainable development = <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SDGs?src=hash">#SDGs</a> says <a href="https://twitter.com/HakimaElHaite">@HakimaElHaite</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SDGLive?src=hash">#SDGLive</a> <a href="https://t.co/v1nVMlLuWu">pic.twitter.com/v1nVMlLuWu</a>
— Connect4Climate (@Connect4Climate) <a href="https://twitter.com/Connect4Climate/status/778595021574512640">September 21, 2016</a></blockquote>
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The President of COP21 and French Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy, Ségolène Royal, praised the involvement of the private sector and non-state actors in COP21 and emphasized the need for a price on carbon. She noted that “green finance is crucial for the climate solution” and that “it is more expensive to do nothing.” 
  
John Roome, Senior Director for Climate Change at the World Bank Group, highlighted that the next 15 years would see more investments than in all of history and the crucial question is: “How do you shape those investments so that they are low-carbon and resilient to climate change?” He also emphasized that we cannot afford to leave anybody behind, citing the World Bank’s research that shows that more than <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=100+million+people+could+return+t…; target="_blank">100 million people could return to poverty if we do not take action on climate action.</a>

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We cannot meet the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SDGs?src=hash">#SDGs</a> or end poverty without addressing <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/climatechange?src=hash">#climatechange</a> - they are absolutely linked. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UNGA?src=hash">#UNGA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SDGLive?src=hash">#SDGLive</a> <a href="https://t.co/VQbYoLs9CU">pic.twitter.com/VQbYoLs9CU</a>
— John Roome (@JohnARoome) <a href="https://twitter.com/JohnARoome/status/778626912990162944">September 21, 2016</a></blockquote>
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From This to Future Generations

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The <a href="http://sdgmz.org/program/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">SDG Media Zone</a> was alive with climate discussions. The Connect4Climate program of the World Bank Group teamed up with Alliance for Climate Educators to have youth representation in the SDG Media Zone. Hakim Evans (17) and Zora Hall (16) <a href="https://youtu.be/6VL1YFijV_g" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">interviewed</a> influential climate leaders and representatives from the private sector, emphasizing that tackling climate change should be this generation’s greatest concern.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEhcYXiUV2Q]

On stage, Roberto Borrero, UN Representative to the International Indian Treaty Council, spoke to the plight of indigenous communities and how they are already at the front line of climate impacts. Meanwhile, Mark Wilson, CEO of Aviva, called for competition for climate action, saying, “we need to make sustainability a competitive sport.” 
  
President and CEO of the UN Foundation, Kathy Calvin, expressed her excitement for the private sector involvement in finding climate solutions and noted, “we need to keep ratcheting up ambition on climate action and show personal climate solutions.” I had the pleasure of moderating a discussion on <a href="http://webtv.un.org/search/sustainable-innovation-and-solving-hunger-gl…; rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sustainable Innovation and Solving Hunger</a>, noting the powerful solutions provided by social enterprises, as exemplified by <a href="http://www.luckyironfish.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lucky Iron Fish</a>, and how these should be applied to climate and development challenges. 
  
Max Schorr, Co-Founder of GOOD, and Aaron Sherinian, Chief Marketing Officer at the United Nations Foundation, announced the <a href="http://www.unfoundation.org/features/earth-to-marrakech.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Earth To Marrakech</a> movement, joined by Connect4Climate and other partners, to raise the volume and profile of the discussion around climate action. Schorr expressed that “we cannot get complacent on climate action!”

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Innovating to Meet the Climate Challenge

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Further uptown in New York the World Bank teamed up with Responding to Climate Change to discuss how the world can direct action and investments on an unprecedented scale to deliver on the Paris Agreement. 
  
Jim Kim, President of the World Bank Group, emphasized this during the opening of the <a href="http://live.worldbank.org/innovating-to-meet-the-climate-challenge?cid=…; rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Innovating to Meet the Climate Challenge</a> event: “Tackling climate change will require innovation at levels we’ve never seen before.” He highlighted that the investment needs to be embedded in the countries’ climate change plans amount to more than <a href="http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/climatefinance/overview" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">$1 trillion a year</a> over the next 15 years.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Tackling climate change will require innovation at levels we’ve never seen before. -<a href="https://twitter.com/JimYongKim">@JimYongKim</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Innovate4Climate?src=hash">#Innovate4Climat…; <a href="https://t.co/lJAqn7kZUy">pic.twitter.com/lJAqn7kZUy</a>
— World Bank (@WorldBank) <a href="https://twitter.com/WorldBank/status/778663114350989312">September 21, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Catherine McKenna, Canadian Minister of Environment and Climate Change, emphasized the benefits of carbon pricing:

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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CarbonPricing?src=hash">#CarbonPricing</a> can accelerate innovation, and is a part of future proofing business. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Innovate4Climate?src=hash">#Innovate4Climat…; <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CWNYC?src=hash">#CWNYC</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/DSM">@DSM</a> <a href="https://t.co/YQ8pZQwSBh">pic.twitter.com/YQ8pZQwSBh</a>
— Minister C. McKenna (@ec_minister) <a href="https://twitter.com/ec_minister/status/778729782724833280">September 21, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Years of Living Dangerously

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The day ended with the spectacular global premiere of the star-studded second season of the <a href="http://yearsoflivingdangerously.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Years of Living Dangerously</a>. Arnold Schwarzenegger spoke to the issues brought forward in the television series and emphasized that climate change should be seen as a challenge of today and not of tomorrow.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Mark your calendars! Season Two of <a href="https://twitter.com/YEARSofLIVING">@YEARSofLIVING</a> will premiere on Sunday, 10/30, on <a href="https://twitter.com/NatGeoChannel">@NatGeoChannel</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/YEARSproject?src=hash">#YEARSproject</a> <a href="https://t.co/YU5yZuLOTk">pic.twitter.com/YU5yZuLOTk</a>
— YEARS (@YEARSofLIVING) <a href="https://twitter.com/YEARSofLIVING/status/760633666879889408">August 3, 2016</a></blockquote>
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The Emmy-winning climate change series returns to tell the biggest story of our time. Featuring some of Hollywood’s most influential stars, the series reveals emotional and hard-hitting accounts of the effects of climate change from across the planet. 
  
Model and Goodwill Ambassador to UNEP, Giselle Bündchen’s tears when confronted by the devastating reality of Amazonian deforestation left me emotional, while David Letterman’s investigation into the light of India’s solar developments left me inspired. 
  
We are certainly on the cusp of a global transition to a low-carbon resilient future. We need to act now, and act fast, to implement the necessary climate solutions.

Connect4Cllimate Sport4Climate Trailer

Overview of activities achieve under the Connect4Climate program, with a few Sport4Climate initiative highlights.

[video:https://vimeo.com/176512547]

3 Early Takeaways from the Film4Climate Competition

Daily more video are being submitted from around the world

Already the Flim4Climate Global Video Competition has more than 250 entries from 100 countries and counting. Each video is telling a story of how skyrocketing carbon emissions and the activities that feed those emissions are having impacts across the globe.

[video: https://youtu.be/DlYo4sq34Ew]

Each story is its own. Some films focus on the individual, others focus on groups, a few focus on countries as a whole, and others don’t focus on humans at all -instead choosing to examine animals, plants or oceans. Individually, these films leave a viewer with a unique experience, but collectively these films combine to create a wonderful mosaic of some of the biggest issues related to climate change today.

We have two weeks left to the deadline for video submissions (enter your story by September 15th), and it is already clear that the stories told through Film4Climate hit the big issues, and draw light on the often untold implications of the climate crisis. Here are three takeaways.

Take 1: Consumption junctions

Rio de Janeiro. Photo Credit: Max Edkins

If you were to blindly click on the Film4Climate gallery where all the videos are displayed (vote for your favorite), there’s a good chance you would find a film addressing consumption habits. Perhaps this increased emphasis on the electricity we use, the food we eat and the water we require, is indicative of a “post-Paris” climate movement that is beyond merely making noise directed at heads of state and obscure United Nations committees, and is instead focused on actions that drive the transition away from fossil fuels.

Of course, meeting the targets agreed upon at Paris will require governments and heads of state to keep stepping up, but as seen in so many of the Film4Climate entries, it’s the individual who really holds the power, especially when it comes to consumption. The film entries relating to electricity usage and the consequences our diets have on the planet, talk as much about the food and electricity that we don’t use as much as the food and electricity we do use. And for good reason.

When it comes to electricity use, there are a few films that simply emphasize the difference in use by telling the stories of a few people. In the developed world there are huge differences when it comes to personal energy use. In the US and Canada, for example, the average person uses about 4,500 kWh each year while a person in the UK or Germany will come in way under that by using under 2,000 kWh each year.

But variations don’t just exist in the developed world, emerging economies show wide ranges in energy use. The average person in Brazil, Mexico and China uses about 500 kWh, but in Brazil residential use per person has been the same for almost 20 years, while in Mexico it is up 50% and in China it has increased 600%. There are film submissions from all these countries devoted to consumption habits.

Of course there are a number of positive stories of innovation that lead to smarter ways of consuming electricity and energy. Many of these films are incredibly inspiring and focus on very local solutions. When it comes to reducing pollution, being smarter about energy and rethinking our diets, there are a number of films highlighting champions that we can all learn from.

Beyond energy there is a major emphasis on food in the Film4Climate competition. Again, the films are complimented well by the facts on the ground. In the United States alone, approximately 40 percent of food goes to waste. Globally, about one third of the food produced for human consumption every year - approximately 1.3 billion tons - gets lost or wasted.

Unsurprisingly, much of the food-focused films in this contest so far are devoted to exposing the damage caused by the global meat industry. The World Resources Institute studied the impact of meat consumption on the planet and found that, “reducing heavy red meat consumption — primarily beef and lamb — would lead to a per capita food and land use-related greenhouse gas emissions reduction of between 15 and 35 percent by 2050.” According to that same World Resources Institute report, “Beef uses more land and freshwater and generates more greenhouse gas emissions per unit of protein than any other commonly consumed food.”

A growing global beef industry requires more land for grazing, and that has resulted in massive clear cutting of the world’s largest rainforest. Thus, the beef consumption issue is a deforestation issue. Which brings us to...

The long road to resilient cities in Africa

The need to build climate & disaster resilience in cities – Project example in Ibadan Urban Flood Management Project (IUFMP)

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Ibadan, Running Splash of Rust and Gold

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Oyo State Officials, Project Implementing Unit, and World Bank team visit project sites and effected communities. Photo Credit: Ivan Bruce

Ibadan is the third largest metropolitan area in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano, with a population of 3.1 million. The population of the city has been rapidly grown from around 60,000 in the early 1800s and is projected to reach 5.6 million by 2033. In this regards, the city’s urban footprint has also increased considerably to its current extent. This sprawl is primarily due to weak land use planning, leading to low population densities especially when <a href="http://www.citymayors.com/statistics/largest-cities-density-125.html">c… to other large cities</a>.  This sprawl increases contributes to the unsustainable costs of infrastructure development and maintenance, which reduce the urban efficiency.

Ibadan is also highly exposed to frequent flooding events. The latest flood event on <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-14774793">August 26, 2011</a> caused the death of more than 120 people and serious damage to key infrastructure. Many bridges collapsed, roads washed away, and the Eleyele dam and the waterworks were severely impacted, which has not been functional since then.

The previous responses to the flooding events have been piecemeal. It was primarily focused on alleviating immediate and short-term needs, using traditional methods and materials such as concrete. However, there is a greater shift in policy emerging from the Federal and State levels; the paradigm has changed from “reactive disaster response” to “preventive flood risk management.” Recognizing the need for an integrated and long-term solution to flooding in Ibadan, the Oyo State Government requested the World Bank's support. <a href="http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2014/06/17/nigeria-world… Ibadan Urban Flood Management Project</a> (IUFMP) a $200 million IDA credit aims to repair and improve several of the critically damaged infrastructure affected by the floods of 2011, strengthen community-based resilience capacity, and provide support for risk assessment and early warning systems to mitigate any future flood occurrences.

The adoption of a framework design approach for the Ibadan Urban Flood Management Project (IUFMP) effectively sets the “rules of the game” and allows infrastructure investments to be selected on a dynamic basis following the adoption of strategic city Masterplans – drainage, solid waste, urban. The masterplan studies will provide the opportunity to create a balance of investments in structural and non-structural.

Discarded waste of plastics fills the dry river bed until the rainy seasons begins. Photo Credit: Farouk Banna

The clear connection between solid waste and flood is alarmingly evident in Ibadan, a disconnected solid waste management has become an enormous challenge, which is severally contributing to the cities capacity to cope with flood scenarios, and contributes to the poor environmental conditions, as much of the waste is being burnt releasing harmful pollutants effecting the cities air quality.

During our mission we discovered that <a href="http://www.atlas.d-waste.com/Documents/Waste-Atlas-report-2014-webEditi… of the world largest dumpsites</a> were in Nigeria, and in fact two of those dumpsites are in Ibadan considering the relatively low population is particularly alarming. It is program within the project to assist in creating a solid Waste Masterplan, although to ensure sustainability a major focus is needed to change behavior and to educate communities on the effects of discarding trash.

Which reminded me a rap video created by a young Hip-Hop group from Kenya, which features members of TS1, winners of Connect4Climate’s Voices competition, and using music to raise awareness of the issue of trash and the potential opportunities. This approach alone will not solve issues of solid waste in Nairobi, but certainly highlights the necessity of engaging in youth and creative industries in tackling complex issues.

[video:https://vimeo.com/7183252]