COP26: African activists seek actions, not words from global leaders

Following the evidence of vulnerabilities from the continent, the young African voices on climate change urged world leaders to listen to them and secure their future.

As deliberations continue at the ongoing United Nations Climate Change Conference, otherwise known as COP26, young African climate activists and campaigners have called on leaders of developed countries to take action and not let this year’s gathering become a mere talk show.

Africa has been identified as one of the vulnerable spots of climate change and according to a recent World Bank’s new Groundswell Africa report, the continent will be hit the hardest, with up to 86 million Africans migrating within their own countries by 2050.

Following the evidence of vulnerabilities from the continent, the young African voices on climate change urged world leaders to listen to them and secure their future.

Voices

Adenike Oladosu, a Nigerian climate activist, eco-feminist, and the initiator of the Fridays For Future movement in Nigeria, said she will like to see African leaders place their people over politics or profit and speak the truth to the developed countries.

She said the commitment of $100 billion climate finance to support developing countries towards cutting carbon emissions, and to minimise the impact of climate change and adapt developing economies to deal with its impact must be seen to be achieved.

She said: “It will be an injustice to us in Africa if Article 6 of the Paris agreement that has to do with counting, transparency, and accountability in order to reduce emissions (especially to the largest polluters) is not completed at the course of this conference.”

Ms Adenike said any commitments taken in COP26 by leaders should not remain at the conference. Such commitments should become a reality back home post COP26 in order to close the gap between actions and words.

Adding his voice, Nyombi Morris, a Ugandan climate activist, expects that this year’s COP26 is seen as a do or die matter.

“In August the world was attacked by climate change impacts, some saw it as news but we activists and scientists have been warning the people about this before now.”

Mr Nyombi said today’s destruction and human suffering has been fueled by companies from the global north who compromise African leaders with money in the name of investment and development.

“Yes we know that we are underdeveloped but these people are finishing our natural resources in gold mining, coal, copper, and iron.

“It’s time for climate action. African leaders who have been invited to COP26 should make sure all their negotiation is in favour of their citizens who are at the receiving end of climate disasters,” he said, adding that; “We need to set up structures that are going to support those communities which are already struggling with climate change impacts.”

Speaking on the intersection between climate change and gender and the need for prioritisation of gender issues at COP26, Fatou Jeng, a climate activist from The Gambia, said; “Gender is a cross-cutting issue due to how women and girls continue to be one of the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. As such, I expect our COP26 negotiations to put climate justice in the heart of our negotiations because there is no climate justice without gender justice and social justice.”

Ms Jeng is the policy operations co-lead on gender and climate change of the UNFCCC Youth Constituency.

Africa’s sad reality

According to Ousmane Diagana, World Bank Vice President for Western and Central Africa, the Groundswell report identifies priorities for climate action that can help countries move towards a green, resilient and inclusive development and generate opportunities for all African people.

“From pastoralists traveling to the Sahel to fishermen braving the seas, the story of West Africa is a story of climate migrants. As countries are experiencing rises in temperatures, erratic rainfall, flooding, and coastal erosion, Africans will face unprecedented challenges in the coming years,” Mr Diagana said.

Across Africa, many countries are battling sea-level rise which is threatening their coastal regions, a key source of revenue.

In West Africa, coastal areas host about one-third of the region’s population and generate 56 per cent of its GDP but this region loses about $3.8 billion yearly due to coastal zone degradation.

Several other countries are plagued by variable rainfall patterns that affect crop yield and agricultural productivity, also fuelling drought and the consequent conflict that arise as a result of resource clashes.

Southern Africa witnessed extensive drought in 2019 while the Greater Horn of Africa and the Sahel, dry regions, experienced flooding in 2019 as a result of heavy rainfall.

Most African countries still rely heavily on rain-fed agriculture. Disruption in rainfall patterns leading to drought or flooding, therefore, have significant impacts on agriculture and food security in respective countries.

Exposure to climate shocks and their lack of adaptive ability makes African countries very vulnerable to climate change.

Almost all sectors are vulnerable to climate change. Extreme heat has dire impacts on health and morbidity while rising flooding increases the risk of waterborne disease. Climate shocks often affect the economy too as well as the livelihood of the people at the grassroots who mostly suffer from these challenges.

Meanwhile, as negotiations and climate talks advance in the next couple of days, ONE Campaign has pledged to remain on ground to further escalate the voice of young people.

Akintunde is a climate activist from Nigeria based in the United Kingdom.  He is currently in Glasgow as ONE delegate alongside other ONE climate activists and will be tweeting activities from cop26 via his Twitter handle @olorunwababs while also reporting on COP26 for PREMIUM TIMES.