Environmental organisation Greenpeace Africa has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to harness his diplomatic skills and promote a pan-African response to the climate crisis in his new capacity as African Union chairperson.
The African continent faces the highest risk from the climate and biodiversity crises, yet many governments are continuing business as usual, the organisation said in a statement on Monday.
Greenpeace Africa senior political adviser Happy Khambule commented that industrialised countries have the historical responsibility for causing climate change, but the climate crisis is a global threat; and African leaders have a shared responsibility to act now to address it.
“For Africans, the climate crisis is not a distant threat – it is a daily reality that people face with devastating consequences, from droughts to floods, loss of livelihood and access to water, to violent conflicts over dwindling resources.”
The organisation suggested that, to ensure clean air and water for all, and to break the deepening cycle of extreme weather events and associated impacts, African nations must stand united to champion renewable energy by 2050, effectively combat desertification and protect the continent’s natural treasures through a new oceans treaty and a permanent moratorium on logging in all rainforests.