Youth activists urge African governments to do more to curb climate change

(Climate Home News, 31 Jan 2020) African youth activists urged their governments on Friday to do more to combat climate change to safeguard food and water supplies on the continent most vulnerable to rising temperatures.

On a video call hosted by Swedish teenage activist Greta Thunberg and her “Fridays for Future” youth movement, they said African nations have a role to play even though global warming has been caused overwhelmingly by major industrialised nations.

Deforestation in Africa and local energy policies promoting fossil fuels were all adding to the crisis, said Makenna Muigai of Kenya.

“I urge African leaders and world leaders to take into consideration that all of us at the end of the day will be affected by climate change,” she said.

Ndoni Mcunu, an environmental scientist at Witwatersrand University in South Africa, said that African nations should make their economies more efficient to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

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Climate Home News, 31 Jan 2020: Youth activists urge African governments to do more to curb climate change