They made the call yesterday when speaking at the meeting that provided a room for them to widely discuss the effects of climate change and they were speaking as the leaders met at the Africa Climate Summit and Africa Climate Week2023 conducted from September 4 to 8, this year in Kenya’s Capital Nairobi.
Ebenezer Mathew, United Nations youth delegate-Tanzania, said they have decided to raise their voice and call for actions to the African leaders because climate change is now putting the health and well-being, nutrition, education, development, survival and future of youth and children at risk.
“If heads of state will not take this issue seriously, it’s the children and young people of today who will face the worst effects of climate change,”he said.
The young people call for comprehensive support, encompassing financial, moral, and knowledge-based assistance to advance their innovations, inventions, and solutions.
Being aware that climate financing plays a pivotal role in both mitigating and adapting to the effects of climate change, they emphasize the importance of implementing agreements and resolutions established during the 27th Conference of Parties in Egypt.
“Our call for climate justice and resilience is resolute key and on going until every nation and each developed country meets its pledges. Instead of engaging in the blame game, we seek empowerment to actively contribute to addressing this global challenge, he said.
The youth also call for African leaders to commit to leverage indigenous knowledge and practices in response to climate change in Africa.
Tanzanian youths recognise that all youths and children in Africa recognize the value of incorporating local indigenous knowledge and practices into Climate Change strategies and practices.
Traditional methods hold insights into sustainable agriculture, resource management and adaptation.
“We call for African leaders to uphold this fact for the integration of indigenous wisdom into climate action plans, respecting local traditions,” he said.
Salha Aziz, director of Binti Salha Foundation said that youth and children have the potential to hold decision-makers accountable but they lack knowledge and skills on how to engage as well as limited space for participation.
“For this reason, capacity building in Africa should also focus on expanding climate education tailored to the African context, empowering youth and children with knowledge about climate change, its impacts, and solutions is paramount,” she said.
“This includes integrating climate related topics into school curricula and organising community outreach initiatives, as well as bringing forth awareness; to children in all contexts with inclusivity,” she said.
African leaders must explore institutional policy gaps and green products market barriers within financial systems to promote green financing and subsequent investments into strategic sectors,” she added.
She explained: “Green jobs for youth and reduced unemployment need policy actions to address institutional barriers to green finance.
Creating green jobs in sectors such as renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and conservation is essential for addressing unemployment and advancing climate resilience.
”African leaders should invest in these areas to benefit both the economy and the environment, but more importantly, the transition to a green economy should be Africanised including revising government policies; laws, incentives, and subsidies, to suit our continent’s pace of development and resilience building.
The young people also urge African leaders to respect the principles of human rights, principle of intergenerational equity and to make decisions that respond to the needs and priorities of African people.
“The leaders also need to emphasize strengthening local resilience, because of the fact that vulnerable communities in Africa require targeted efforts to build resilience through climate-smart agriculture, disaster preparedness, and community-based adaptation projects.”
These measures safeguard not only livelihoods and ecosystems but also shed light on youth prosperity in the context of climate change and children’s welfare to their full potential in adulthood.
The principles of locally-led adaptation must be respected. It is important to pursue climate actions that consider both present and future generations.
Failure to take climate actions today could jeopardize the welfare of tomorrow’sgeneration of which the current generation is best placed to take preventive climate actions.
Furthermore, they call upon the support and promotion of collaboration, knowledge sharing, and youth empowerment in climate change leadership.
“As Africans, we have good practices to curb the effects of climate change, but we have differences as well in acting on the responses, therefore, African youth seek partnerships within the continent to exchange knowledge, share best practices, and access resources for effective climate action, ”she said.
This will increase ownership of our own climate change adaptation initiatives, and therefore inspire youth and children to play a leading role in climate in the continent, and request opportunities for leadership development, capacity-building, and meaningful engagement in climate policy decisions.
The youth also said their active involvement is key to driving positive change in the fight against climate change impacts.
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