[1] He holds a PhD from the London School of Economics, with his thesis titled, "The political economy of South-South relations: The case of South Africa and Latin America,"[2] and specialises in questions of energy, trade, biodiversity, and corporate responsibility.
[3][4][5] Fig chairs the board of Biowatch South Africa, which is concerned with food security and sustainable agriculture, and works closely with various environmental justice non-government organizations.
He has previously been executive director of the Group for Environmental Monitoring in Johannesburg, a senior lecturer in sociology at the University of the Witwatersrand, and a board member of South African National Parks.
[3][4] He is chair of the board of Biowatch South Africa, a non-governmental organization focused on agro-ecology, food independence, and biosafety.
In the past, he has held leadership roles at LEAD Southern Africa, the International Sociology Association Research Committee on Environment and Society, and the African Uranium Alliance.