York St John University launches its 2025/26 Discussing Decolonisation series on Wednesday 8 October with a thought-provoking guest lecture by Dr Leon Sealey-Huggins, exploring the intertwined struggle for race and climate justice.
The event, titled Breaking Down or Breaking Free: Climate, Race and the Struggle for Justice, takes place on campus in York as part of the University’s programme for Black History Month. For those unable to attend in person, the lecture will also be live-streamed. Tickets are free and open to all.
As the climate crisis intensifies, it deepens racial and social inequalities. Those least responsible for the damage—particularly communities in the Global South and marginalised groups in the North—are the first and hardest hit. Dr Sealey-Huggins’ lecture will examine this stark reality, challenging audiences to confront the overlapping crises of inequality, oppression, fossil fuel dependence and ecological breakdown.
The lecture also explores the possibilities of “breaking free” through a just transition rooted in racial justice. This vision calls for a transformation in the way we live, work and relate to each other and the planet. Drawing on the power of grassroots movements, Dr Sealey-Huggins will outline solutions and pathways already being built toward a more just and sustainable future.
Dr Leon Sealey-Huggins is Senior Campaigner in Global Climate Justice at War on Want, where he leads on the Global Green New Deal framework for Just, Equitable and Ecological Transitions. His work includes interventions at UNFCCC climate talks, alongside global partners in the climate justice movement.
Alongside his campaigning, Leon is a Visiting Fellow in Global Sustainable Development at the University of Warwick, where he was formerly Assistant Professor. His research and activism focus on climate justice, interrogating the social and political structures driving climate breakdown and exploring the kinds of societies we must co-create to achieve justice.
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