African Statement at the Fourth World Youth Congress.
Quebec City, Canada, 10-21 August 2008.
Your Majesty, The Chairperson,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Great Youth Leaders of Today.
It is indeed an honour for me to deliver a statement on behalf of Africa (and Nigeria in particular) on the auspicious occasion of the 4TH World Youth Congress in Quebec City, Canada.
We the African delegates at the Congress commend the organisers of this event for demonstrating leadership in providing a platform for youth to meet with policymakers to discuss key issues affecting us.
This is a moment of opportunity for young Africans to make a statement on Climate Change. Our leaders have embraced a new vision for Africa’s future which recognises their leading role in addressing the continent's challenges and realising its opportunities. Unfortunately, Africa is still the only continent not on track to meet any of the Goals of the Millennium Declaration by 2015 especially as regards MDG Goal 7. Climate Change threatens the MDGs especially as it lead to more deaths and illness due to heat-waves, floods, droughts, and hurricanes as well as alter the quality and productivity of natural resources and ecosystems, some of which may be irreversibly damaged.
Africa is one of the continents most vulnerable to climate change;75–250 million people across Africa could face more severe water shortages by 2020. Agricultural production and access to food will be severely compromised in many African countries: agricultural land will be lost, and there will be shorter growing seasons and lower yields. In some countries, yields from rain-fed crops could be halved by 2020. Rising water temperatures will decrease fish stocks in large lakes, already depleted by over fishing.[1]
We are deeply concerned with the levels of poverty, environmental degradation and the threat and risks of climate change on our continent; and recognizing the urgency of limiting the impacts of the global climate as well as the importance of meaningful youth participation in program design, implementation, and evaluation on climate change adaptation, we hereby:
vAffirm the reality and urgency of climate change and the adverse negative impact it has on entire humanity and particularly on poor and vulnerable communities in Africa. We have failed to acknowledge the fact that the earth sustains life because of the harmonious balance of the elements and all the creatures within it. Our pursuit of “happiness and high quality of life” need not endanger other peoples, nations, communities, species and future generations that are also entitled to survival and happiness. The earth has enough resources to satisfy everyone’s need, but not enough resources for anyone’s greed.
vWelcome the commitment of African leaders to take responsibility for developing our continent, and to set further measures designed to help Africans build the successful future all of us want to see, many of which will be applicable to other poor countries. These actions must be undertaken in a coordinated and coherent manner and should accelerate the self-sustaining growth of Africa, tackle climate change and promote clean technologies, while pursuing energy security and sustainable development.
We urge African governments to propose and support principles based on justice, equity and responsibility in the climate change debate. These will go a long way to secure fair and just commitments for the post 2012 period. Unless decisive action is taken immediately, climate chaos will lead to increased human suffering and social upheaval condemning millions of people to hunger, disease, misery and death. A third of the African population has already fallen prey to droughts, floods and resource based conflicts resulting from global warming.
We also call upon African governments to Affirm political willto address climate change and to allocate adequate public resources to education for increased resilience and adaptation initiatives.
We also call on institutions and programs (such as GTZ, SIDA, USAID, DGIS, DFID, among others) that are currently active in the field of African climate science, agricultural development and climate change adaptation to Increase their support for adaptation as well encourage Government agencies toscale up their adaptation commitment
On our part, We, the young leaders present in this congress, hereby commit ourselves to work, engage and challenge our constituents, African governments, partners, governments of industrialized countries, the African Union, United Nations and other stakeholders in ensuring that climate change and its adverse effects as already experienced or projected is reversed.
We are committed to work with our governments, UNEP, Development partners, the Media, and all stakeholders of environmental sustainability and urge all to give due regard to our concerns and contributions.
We commend the efforts of the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition (CYCC) in Canada and the Australian Youth Climate Coalition (AYCC) in Australiain directly engaging their MPs to share ideas and demand action on Climate Change.
Finally, we enjoin all African delegates to join the African Youth Climate Coalition (AYCC) in order to engage African Leaders on climate change issues. The AYCC will provide a platform for youth to share concerns and ideas as well as assess the energy efficiency of their politicians’ office and encourage them to reduce their environmental footprint.
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WYC 2008 Statement by Nkiruka Nnaemego