‘This earth that we love is in grave danger because of us,’ reads the first line of Sir Ben Okri’s poem, ‘The Broken’. 

 

The poet and Booker-prize winner, who has long been a vocal environmental activist, has seen the effects of the climate catastrophe firsthand, as a young boy growing up in Nigeria, but is optimistic that it’s not too late to reverse the damage that’s been done to our planet.

 

Today on Ways to Change the World, Ben Okri tells Krishnan Guru-Murthy about the urgent need for action on climate change, the importance of disruptive protests like Just Stop Oil, and why artists like him should use their voice to encourage people to rise up to the challenge.

 

Produced by Alice Wagstaffe and Silvia Maresca