In 2023, presenter, speaker and climate journalist Louisa Schneider traveled with Greenpeace to the five most endangered climate tipping points in the world - Brazil, Senegal, Canada, Greenland and Australia. She stood in the smoke of burning forests, saw beaches sinking into the ocean, heard the ice breaking under her feet and spoke to people whose homes are threatened by climate change. She talks about what she saw, heard and felt there - and why she still holds on to hope - in her event series "GRAD° JETZT: Against Fear" and in her book of the same name, which was published last year by Knesebeck-Verlag.

Dear Louisa, welcome to Berlin! It's a great pleasure to be able to accompany you through the evening today (26.03.25) at the CineStar in the Kulturbrauerei. You will be taking over 200 people with you on your journey - how did this come about? What motivated you to want to be part of this adventure?

I believe that good stories can open hearts. And that's exactly what I wanted to do: not just talk about the climate crisis - but make it tangible. I wanted to show what is at stake - not just abstract numbers of degrees, but real lives, real places, real hopes. For me, this journey was not an adventure in the classic sense - but a search for truth, justice and connection.

What exactly are "climate tipping points" and why are they so important?

Tipping points are moments of no return. If we cross them, entire ecosystems will change irrevocably - the green lungs of the Amazon could become a CO₂ spinner, the Arctic ice will disappear, the Gulf Stream will tilt. And what is often forgotten: It's not just environmental systems that are collapsing - it's the reality of millions of people's lives. Tipping points don't just affect someone at some point - they affect us all. Now.

On your trip, you saw the situation for yourself and spoke to the people affected. Which moments particularly touched you?

There was this moment in Senegal when a young woman told me: "We are hardly contributing to the climate crisis - but we are paying the highest price." Or in Greenland, when a man told me that he hears the melting of his homeland every day. These encounters are impossible to forget. They are not just interviews - they are human connections that remain.

How would you describe your journey in three words?

Touching. Awakening. Full of hope.

Three years ago, you started raising awareness about the climate crisis on Instagram. Today, almost 60,000 people follow you. You've given speeches at Fridays for Future demos and present across Germany. What motivated you to campaign for climate protection back then?

A key experience was the Ahr valley flood in 2021 - not far from my home. That's when I understood: Okay, the climate crisis isn't going to happen sometime or somewhere, it's here and now and it affects us all. I was already active before that and was committed to protecting people, but after the Ahrtal, nothing could stop me and I pooled all my resources and put them into climate work. I'm not just concentrating on Germany, however, but above all internationally, so that we listen to those who are now most affected and most at risk.

Your series of events and your book are called "Grad° jetzt - Gegen die Angst". Why is it important to you to spread hope as well as urgency?

Because fear paralyzes - and hope moves. Yes, the situation is serious. But if we just freeze in powerlessness, we lose everything. I believe in the power of stories that give us courage. Hope does not mean trivialization - it is resistance. It is our tool for taking action.

You deal with shocking information on a daily basis. How do you manage not to lose hope?

By remembering what I am doing this for. By connecting with others who are also struggling. And by consciously seeking beauty - in nature, in people, in small moments. I don't just want to admonish, I also want to shine. When we see light, we follow it.

What advice would you give to people who have so far paid little attention to the climate crisis?

Start where it touches you. You don't have to be perfect, but you can start. Talk about it. Read. Choose consciously. Make your topic part of your voice. And above all, don't let guilt paralyze you, let responsibility carry you.

You've toured over 40 cities with your show and written a book - what's next?

I'm currently working with my partner André on a documentary series called "Turning Point". Each episode tells the stories of each location: Brazil, Senegal, Canada, Greenland and Australia. Our main aim is to report on utopias, justice and hopeful resistance. It's a young, modern infotainment series. I can't say exactly when the series will be released. But the plan is to show a few episodes at the COP30 (international climate conference) this November in Belém, Brazil. We are working at full speed!

Thank you Louisa for your important work and the inspiring conversation. <3

Thank you - for listening, for empathizing, for sticking with me.

Watch the video of the interview here.

This content has been machine translated.