By Landry Ndungi / Afp
In the run-up to the COP27 climate summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, more than a hundred African organizations are uniting their voices. Since the end of September, the "African Climate Caravans" road show has been crisscrossing 28 African countries to assess the damage caused by global warming and to propose more environmentally friendly solutions in a joint plea for the entire continent.
In the run-up to the COP27 climate summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, more than a hundred African organizations are uniting their voices. Since the end of September, the "African Climate Caravans" road show has been crisscrossing 28 African countries to assess the damage caused by global warming and to propose more environmentally friendly solutions in a joint plea for the entire continent.
From flooding and drought to biodiversity loss and global warming, over the years, as a continent Africa has become increasingly vulnerable to environmental changes. A new ecological initiative, called "African Climate Caravans," organized in partnership with Oxfam, gives a voice to the African population, which is suffering from the effects of the climate crisis.
A common plea uniting the efforts of 375 organizations
Sena Alouka, director of the youth NGO Jeunes Volontaires pour l'Environnement (Young Volunteers for the Environment) and coordinator of the initiative, told the France Info radio network that "it is about mobilizing citizens who suffer the consequences of global warming, to focus on solutions and to be able to influence decision-makers." As such, the "African Climate Caravans" initiative is on a mission to go out and meet citizens and environmental activism organizations across Africa to collect their demands and build a common advocacy agenda for the entire continent.
Citizens see the upcoming summit in Egypt as an opportunity to better represent the opinions of young people and poor populations when it comes to environmental matters. From Burkina Faso to Cameroon via the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the "African Climate Caravans" initiative is being implemented on a national scale in the participating countries.
The interactive map featured on Oxfam's "Towards COP27" webpage features profiles of individual activists as well as videos of the many rallies and events. These can be accessed by clicking on each participating country. In total, 375 non-governmental organizations are taking part. These organizations have met with local populations affected by climate change, allowing them to draw an assessment of the situation and try to propose alternative solutions.
"Concrete action" for the climate
A Cameroonian student called for "concrete action" on the climate during an ecological hike on Mount Messa in Yaoundé organized on October 1. As part of the "Caravans" initiative, this awareness-raising activity, which brought together 70 activists, served to maintain the pressure on leaders in favor of climate justice. In Kinshasa, DRC, the environmental activist movement Extinction Rebellion took to the streets to demand the cancellation of climate debts imposed by G7 countries and to prevent oil exploration in the Virunga National Park.
In Senegal, the NGO was able to visit agro-ecological zones in order to report on the hardships of rural farmers, while in Burkina Faso, local associations met for a conference to raise community awareness about ecological practices to adopt. Then, on October 1 in Côte d'Ivoire, the NGO CGLTE-OA (West African Global Convergence of Land Water and Seeds Struggle) called on the people of Ayénouan to question the authorities on climate change matters during an awareness session.
Calling on Western countries and African governments
The aim of the "African Climate Caravans" is to accelerate environmental policies in Africa, as well as call on rich countries to help finance dedicated infrastructure. Western countries had promised to commit $100 billion to less wealthy nations at previous summits. Sena Alouka told the French international public radio broadcaster RFI that "this promise has been made since 2009, and we see that in 2022, there is still a gap." In the official joint declaration of the "African Climate Caravans for Climate Justice," issued on October 4, the initiative called for the entire international community to meet its climate commitments relative to the Paris Agreement, and for heads of state and governments to defend the interests of their own populations.
African leaders met in early October at the Pre-COP27 meeting in Kinshasa in the hope of consolidating their views on the African environment. But no official final decision resulted, despite the climate emergency highlighted by the "Caravans." Egypt, the country where COP27 will take place, did not participate in this third edition of the "African Climate Caravans."
