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Demand Utopia: A Solarpunk Podcast

Interview with Dr Hélène Jacot Des Combes on Climate Change and the Marshall Islands

Season 2, Ep. 3

In this episode, Christina De La Rocha talks to Dr Hélène Jacot Des Combes, Disaster Risk Management and Climate Change Adaptation Advisor to the National Disaster Management Office of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. They discuss sea level rise, infrastructure that can adapt to climate change, and land reclamation and protection. Dr Des Combes speaks passionately about reparations (for decades of colonialism, the US’s testing of atomic weapons on the atolls of the Marshall Islands, forced relocation of the Marshallese people, climate injustice, and much more) and advocates for the Marshallese peoples’ right to their own lands.


You can read more about the Marshall Islands' unique position at the forefront of sea level rise at PacificaRisa.org. For further reading, check out the Republic of the Marshall Islands' Climate Change website here, you can read up on the Government of the Marshall Islands' Adaptation Communication (Dec 2020) here, and the World Bank's page on the Marshall Islands has some informative visuals.


Connect with Solarpunk Magazine at solarpunkmagazine.com and on Twitter @solarpunklitmag


Connect with Solarpunk Presents Podcast on Twitter @SolarpunkP or Mastodon @solarpunkpresents@climatejustice.rocks

Connect with Ariel at her blog, on Twitter at @arielletje, and on Mastodon @arielkroon@wandering.shop

Connect with Christina at her blog, on Twitter @xtinadlr, and on Mastodon @xtinadlr@wandering.shop

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