Mikaela Loach

Mikaela Loach
Born
Kingston, Jamaica
EducationUniversity of Edinburgh
Websitewww.mikaelaloach.com

Mikaela Loach is an acclaimed British author, climate justice organiser, activist, speaker and media personality.[1][2][3][4] She has authored two books: It's Not That Radical: Climate Action to Transform Our World (2023)[5][6] and Climate Is Just The Start (2025). She was named a top thinker of 2024 by Prospect.[7][6]

With Jo Becker, Loach co-hosts the Yikes podcast, which explores climate change, human rights and social justice.[8] Loach co-founded AWETHU School of Organising alongside anti-racism educator, Jess Mally[9], with AWETHU's first cohort taking place in September 2024.[10]

Early life and education

Loach was born in Kingston, Jamaica, to a British father and Jamaican mother and moved to Surrey at age 3.[11][12] She studied Medicine at the University of Edinburgh.[13][12][14] Mikaela Loach also holds a degree in Global Health Policy.

Career

Campaigns

Loach advocates for environmental justice, racial justice, sustainable fashion, as well as speaking out on issues such as white supremacy and maltreatment of migrants.[15][16] She also seeks to make the climate movement more inclusive and promoting 'active hope' and collective action,[17] which extends to all "emitting" industries and areas of cultural institutions and of event sponsorship.[16][2][18][19][20][21]

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.[14][22] She also campaigns with Climate Camp Scotland.[23] She was a speaker at Zurich Insurance Group's Youth Against Carbon Conference.[24]

In December 2021, Loach took part in a judicial review alongside other activists, to challenge the UK Government's oil and gas strategy.[25][26] In January 2022, the High Court found against the activists, stating the case had "no basis in the statute".[27] Her "Stop Oil" campaigning continues and has an impact on young activists.[28][29] 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,[30][18] and has concerns about the hidden emissions from buildings.[31]

In 2022, Loach became the first climate activist to feature on the cover of music and culture magazine, KERRANG!.[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]

Podcast and writing

In 2020, Loach created the Yikes podcast with Jo Becker.[23][35][36]

Via a five-way auction in 2022, DK Life acquired the rights to publish Loach's debut book It's Not That Radical: Climate Action to Transform Our World in 2023.[37]

Loach's second book Climate Is Just The Start was published via Random House Children's in 2025.[38] That same year, Loach was appointed a Launchpad Fellow of The Safina Center.[39]

AWETHU School of Organising

In 2024, Mikaela Loach co-founded AWETHU alongside anti-racism educator, Jess Mally. The name AWETHU is derived from the anti-apartheid chant "Amandla Awethu," meaning "the power is ours."[40]

"AWETHU was established to address the lack of political education in movement spaces and the prevalent culture of merely "reading the right books" without translating that knowledge into action. Inspired by the educational models of the Black Panthers, Ella Baker in SNCC and The Ella Baker School of Organising in the UK, AWETHU aims to provide a robust framework for political education and organising. Together, Mikaela and Jess have over a decade of experience in organising for climate justice, Black liberation and social change."[40]

AWETHU School of Organising runs yearly cohorts (a curriculum covering the basics of climate justice, colonial history, anti-racism and anti-capitalism, as well as organising principles to build successful campaigns and wellbeing in activism to ensure this work is truly sustainable), with the next eight-week cohort scheduled for September-October 2026 in Brighton.[40]

Publications

  • It's Not That Radical: Climate Action to Transform Our World. London: DK, 2023. ISBN 978-0241597538.
  • Climate Is Just The Start. Bright Matters (Random House), 2025. ISBN 978-0-593-89732-4.

Accolades

In 2020, Loach was nominated for a Global Citizen Award in the UK Hero category.[41] She featured on the BBC Woman's Hour Power List of "women protecting our planet"[42] and the Forbes list of UK Leading Environmentalists.[43]

Loach's debut book It's Not That Radical won the Non-fiction prize at the 2023 Indie Champion Book Awards.[44] Loach was named a top thinker of 2024 by Prospect.[7][6] Loach's second book Climate Is Just The Start has been awarded Junior Library Guild Gold Standard[45], a starred review from Booklist and the 2025 Blueberry Changemaker Award[46].

References

  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. 1 2 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. ↑ Peirson-Hagger, Ellen (14 March 2023). "Art attack! The unstoppable uprising of young climate activists". Dazed Digital. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 "25 Thinkers for a World on the Brink". Prospect: 24. January 2024.
  7. 1 2 "Ep047: #GoodAncestor Mikaela Loach on Climate Justice & Antiracism". LAYLA F. SAAD. 24 February 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  8. ↑ Townsend, Solitaire (16 November 2020). "100 UK Leading Environmentalists (Who Happen To Be Women)". Forbes. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  9. ↑ "ABOUT JESS". Jess Mally. Retrieved 16 July 2026.
  10. ↑ "AWETHU school of organising". AWETHU school of organising. Retrieved 16 July 2026.
  11. ↑ Howard, Jasmine. "Climate Issues and Human Rights: Mikaela Loach fights for it all". Fashion on the Beat. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  12. 1 2 Shadijanova, Diyora (20 April 2022). "Mikaela Loach: "The only thing that will ensure our survival is a…". Kerrang!. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  13. ↑ 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.
  14. 1 2 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.
  15. ↑ 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.
  16. 1 2 Murray, Georgia (25 September 2020). "15 Women Decolonizing Sustainable Fashion". Refinery29. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  17. ↑ "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.
  18. 1 2 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.
  19. ↑ Hiraide, Lydia Ayame (12 November 2021). "Opinion – Black and Southern Feminisms Matter in the Global Climate Struggle". E-International Relations. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  20. ↑ Spence, Rachel (3 May 2024). Battle for the Museum. C.Hurst (Publishers) Ltd. p. 212. ISBN 9781787387751.
  21. ↑ 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.
  22. ↑ "Extinction Rebellion protests: 'This is a last resort'". BBC News. 8 October 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  23. 1 2 "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.
  24. ↑ "'We're fighting for our futures'". BBC News. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  25. ↑ 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.
  26. ↑ 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.
  27. ↑ "R (oao Cox & Others) v Oil and Gas Authority & Others ("Paid to Pollute case")". Climate Change Litigation. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  28. ↑ Hertzog-Young, Charlie (26 September 2023). Spinning Out - Climate Change, Mental Health and Fighting for a Better Future. Footnote Press. ISBN 9781804440605.
  29. ↑ 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.
  30. ↑ Mansfield, Nicola; Grose, Virginia (2023). Fashion supply chain management. Mastering fashion management (1st ed.). New York, NY: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-367-70340-0.
  31. ↑ Woolley, Tom (23 May 2024). Building Materials, Health and Indoor Air Quality: Volume 2. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-040-02617-5.
  32. ↑ "Mikaela Loach: "The only thing that will ensure our survival is a…". Kerrang!. 20 April 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2026.
  33. ↑ Binns, Daniel (13 August 2023). "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.
  35. ↑ 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.
  36. ↑ 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.
  37. ↑ "DK Life triumphs in five-way auction for 'extraordinary' book on climate action by Loach". The Bookseller. 27 October 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  38. ↑ Alcoba, Natalie (3 November 2025). "How to be a little bit brave". Corporate Knights. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  39. ↑ "Announcing our New 2025 Fellows and the Judy Bergsma Scholarship!". The Safina Center. 29 January 2025. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  40. 1 2 3 "AWETHU school of organising". AWETHU school of organising. Retrieved 16 July 2026.
  41. ↑ Lock, Helen (9 December 2020). "Activist Mikaela Loach on Breaking up With Fast Fashion and Why Climate Justice Is Racial Justice". Global Citizen. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  42. ↑ "Woman's Hour Power List: The women protecting our planet". BBC. 18 November 2020. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  43. ↑ Townsend, Solitaire (16 November 2020). "100 UK Leading Environmentalists (Who Happen To Be Women)". Forbes. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  44. ↑ "Bookshop Indie Champion Award Non-Fiction". iBrowse Books. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  45. ↑ "Climate Is Just the Start". Junior Library Guild. Retrieved 16 July 2026.
  46. ↑ "The 2025 Blueberry Awards — a staff-created list from Evanston Public Library". Evanston Public Library. Retrieved 16 July 2026.
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