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Mikaela Loach

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Mikaela Loach
Born
Kingston, Jamaica
NationalityJamaican/British
EducationThe University of Edinburgh medical student
Known forClimate justice activist, blogger and podcaster

Mikaela Loach is a British climate justice activist, author, and former medical student.[1][2][3][4]

She was brought up in Surrey, living in Edinburgh, Scotland.[5][6] She is a medical student at the University of Edinburgh[7] who published a book and uses social media for campaigning, named as one of the Prospect top thinkers in 2024.[8][9]

Alongside Jo Becker, Loach is the co-producer, writer and presenter of the Yikes podcast, which explores climate change, human rights and social justice.[10] She is the author of the book It's Not That Radical: Climate Action to Transform Our World (2023).[11][9]

Early life and education

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Loach was born in Kingston Jamaica to a British father and Jamaican mother, and moved to Surrey, United Kingdom.[12] In the UK, Loach attended Farlington School.[13]

Campaigning

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Loach advocates for environmental justice, racial justice, sustainable fashion, as well as speaking out on issues such as white supremacy and maltreatment of migrants.[14][15] She also seeks to make the climate movement more inclusive and promoting 'active hope' and collective action,[16] which extends to all 'emitting' industries and areas of cultural institutions and of event sponsorship.[15][2][17][18][19][20]

During part of 2019 Extinction Rebellion climate crisis protests in London, Loach locked-on for eight hours in an attempt to prevent police clearing a site.[7][21] She also campaigns with Climate Camp Scotland.[22] She was a speaker at Zurich Insurance Group's Youth Against Carbon Conference.[23] In 2020, Loach created the Yikes podcast with Jo Becker.[22][24][25]

In December 2021, Loach took part in a judicial review alongside other activists, to challenge the UK Government's oil and gas strategy.[26][27] In January 2022, the High Court found against the activists, stating the case had "no basis in the statute".[28] But her 'Stop Oil' campaigning continues and has an impact on young activists.[29][30] A related campaign Loach engages in is against fast fashion and supply chains bringing the physical, environmental damage and human rights issues together, and attempts to improve advice and practices in the market,[31][17] and has concerns about the hidden emissions from buildings.[32] She was one of the authors who disrupted the Edinburgh International Book Festival in 2024, in relation to sponsorship concerns.[33] Loach sees the various campaigns as integrated, comparing her "networks of resistance" to a network of fungi, linking trees in a forest.[34]

Publications

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  • It's Not That Radical: Climate Action to Transform Our World. London: DK, 2023. ISBN 978-0241597538.

References

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  1. ^ Pickard, Sarah (16 May 2024), "Disruptive do-it-ourselves politics: young climate and environmental activists", Research Handbook on the Sociology of Youth, Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 254–267, doi:10.4337/9781803921808.00031, ISBN 978-1-80392-180-8, retrieved 21 July 2024
  2. ^ a b Rowbotham, Isabel (8 September 2021). "Environmental influencers: climate justice activism". www.the-kingfisher.org. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  3. ^ OBE, Juliet Davenport (27 October 2022). The Green Start-up: 'A beautiful, urgent "how-to" for the leaders of today and tomorrow' - MARY PORTAS. Heligo Books. ISBN 978-1-78870-751-0.
  4. ^ Bratton, John; Denham, David (3 June 2024). Capitalism and Classical Social Theory: Fourth Edition. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-1-4875-5633-4.
  5. ^ Fox, Genevieve (16 April 2023). "'It's my calling': Mikaela Loach, rising star of the climate crisis campaign". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  6. ^ "Mikaela Loach: "The only thing that will ensure our survival is a…". Kerrang!. 20 April 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  7. ^ a b Cope, Emily (3 February 2021). "The top sustainability influencers to follow on Instagram: From veganism to plastic-free living". The Independent. Archived from the original on 14 May 2022. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  8. ^ "Ep047: #GoodAncestor Mikaela Loach on Climate Justice & Antiracism". LAYLA F. SAAD. 24 February 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  9. ^ a b "25 Thinkers for a World on the Brink". Prospect: 24. January 2024.
  10. ^ Townsend, Solitaire (16 November 2020). "100 UK Leading Environmentalists (Who Happen To Be Women)". Forbes. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  11. ^ Peirson-Hagger, Ellen (14 March 2023). "Art attack! The unstoppable uprising of young climate activists". Dazed Digital. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  12. ^ "Mikaela Loach: "The only thing that will ensure our survival is a…". Kerrang!. 20 April 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  13. ^ "Farlington Student Baking for Argentina". UK Boarding Schools. 3 February 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  14. ^ Thomas, Leah (7 April 2022). The Intersectional Environmentalist: How to Dismantle Systems of Oppression to Protect People + Planet. Profile. ISBN 978-1-80081-286-4.
  15. ^ a b Murray, Georgia (25 September 2020). "15 Women Decolonizing Sustainable Fashion". Refinery29. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  16. ^ "Mikaela Loach on fighting the climate crisis through social justice and being a 'soft Black girl'". Channel 4 News. 20 October 2023. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  17. ^ a b Mazzarella, Sharon R., ed. (2024). The Routledge companion to girls' studies. Routledge companions to gender (First ed.). Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-367-42116-8.
  18. ^ Hiraide, Lydia Ayame (12 November 2021). "Opinion – Black and Southern Feminisms Matter in the Global Climate Struggle". E-International Relations. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  19. ^ Spence, Rachel (3 May 2024). Battle for the Museum. C.Hurst (Publishers) Ltd. p. 212. ISBN 9781787387751.
  20. ^ Dugan, Emily (13 August 2023). "Author walks out of Edinburgh book festival over sponsor's fossil fuel links". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  21. ^ "Extinction Rebellion protests: 'This is a last resort'". BBC News. 8 October 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  22. ^ a b "Activist Mikaela Loach on Breaking up With Fast Fashion and Why Climate Justice Is Racial Justice". Global Citizen. 9 December 2020. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  23. ^ "'We're fighting for our futures'". BBC News. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  24. ^ Yıldırım, Seda (1 January 2021). "Do green women influencers spur sustainable consumption patterns? Descriptive evidences from social media influencers". Ecofeminism and Climate Change. 2 (4): 198–210. doi:10.1108/EFCC-02-2021-0003. ISSN 2633-4070.
  25. ^ Jones, Lynne (7 March 2024). Sorry for the Inconvenience But This Is an Emergency - The Nonviolent Struggle for Our Planet's Future. C.Hurst (Publishers) Ltd. ISBN 9781911723035.
  26. ^ Chan, Emily (4 November 2021). ""The Only People Who Can Save Us Are Ourselves": Climate Activist Mikaela Loach on Why She's Taking the UK Government to Court". Vogue. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  27. ^ McKie, Robin (4 December 2021). "Environmental activists challenge 'unlawful' UK fossil fuel plan in high court". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  28. ^ "R (oao Cox & Others) v Oil and Gas Authority & Others ("Paid to Pollute case")". Climate Change Litigation. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  29. ^ Hertzog-Young, Charlie (26 September 2023). Spinning Out - Climate Change, Mental Health and Fighting for a Better Future. Footnote Press. ISBN 9781804440605.
  30. ^ Starik, Mark; Rands, Gordon P.; Deason, Jonathan P.; Kanashiro, Patricia (20 January 2023). Handbook of Multi-Level Climate Actions: Sparking and Sustaining Transformative Approaches. Edward Elgar Publishing. p. 160. ISBN 978-1-80220-245-8.
  31. ^ Mansfield, Nicola; Grose, Virginia (2023). Fashion supply chain management. Mastering fashion management (1st ed.). New York, NY: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-367-70340-0.
  32. ^ Woolley, Tom (23 May 2024). Building Materials, Health and Indoor Air Quality: Volume 2. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-040-02617-5.
  33. ^ "Author Mikaela Loach walks out of her Edinburgh book festival event over fossil fuel links". Sky News. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  34. ^ Massie-Blomfield, Amber (27 June 2024). Acts of Resistance: The Power of Art to Create a Better World. Footnote Press. ISBN 978-1-80444-074-2.


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