Young environmental activists have lashed out at world leaders for not walking the talk in implementing reforms to stop global warming at a Youth4Climate event held in Italy.
The climate talk event was attended by various world leaders and climate youth activists from around the globe.
Greta Thunberg, an outspoken Swedish climate justice activist blamed world leaders for “inviting cherry-picked young people to meetings like this to pretend like they are listening to us, but they are not.”
Moreover, she said while much has been promised, little has been done over decades to tackle climate change since the landmark Earth summit.
Ugandan Climate Activist, Vanessa Nekate also added her weight in calling for environmental justice.
She urged world leaders to stop making empty promises and to start honouring declarations on climate change.
She said: “Africa was the least polluting continent in the world except for Antarctica, but the most likely to be affected by climate change.”
Africa’s 54 countries have contributed almost nothing to climate change.
Today, they account for about 2-3 per cent of global carbon emissions and 1 per cent of cumulative emissions, according to Energy for Growth Hub. This means if Africa’s carbon output fell to zero, the world would hardly notice.
Moreover, five of the countries most affected by extreme weather events in 2019 were African, according to the Global Climate Risk Index produced by Germanwatch, a Bonn-based organisation.
Furthermore, longer-term evidence also points to dramatically shifting weather conditions. This has led to changing rainfall patterns which are gravely felt in sub-Saharan Africa, where 95 per cent of farmers have no irrigation, continues the report.
The farmers also lack financial muscle to deal with the impending climatic catastrophe. It is against this background that young activists have called for action against climate change. – SNN Environment
