• Disrupting Power Since 2015
  • Donate
  • Login
Thursday, May 22, 2025
  • Login
  • Register
Canary
MEDIA THAT DISRUPTS
  • News
    • UK
    • Global
    • Analysis
    • Trending
  • Editorial
  • Features
    • Features
    • Environment
    • Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Money
    • Science
    • Business
    • Tech
    • Travel
    • Sport & Gaming
  • Media
    • Video
    • Cartoons
  • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
MANAGE SUBSCRIPTION
SUPPORT
  • News
    • UK
    • Global
    • Analysis
    • Trending
  • Editorial
  • Features
    • Features
    • Environment
    • Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Money
    • Science
    • Business
    • Tech
    • Travel
    • Sport & Gaming
  • Media
    • Video
    • Cartoons
  • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
Canary
No Result
View All Result

Climate activists from Africa speak out about the marginalisation of African voices

The Canary by The Canary
31 January 2020
in Environment, Global, News, Other News & Features
Reading Time: 4 mins read
165 7
A A
0
Home Other News & Features Environment
320
SHARES
2.5k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate and peers from other African nations have made an urgent appeal for the world to pay more attention to the continent that stands to suffer the most from climate breakdown despite contributing to it the least.

The Fridays For Future movement and activist Greta Thunberg held a news conference with the activists in Sweden to spotlight the marginalisation of African voices.

“African activists are doing so much”

Nakate – along with Makenna Muigai of Kenya, Ayakha Melithafa of South Africa, and climate scientist Ndoni Mcunu of South Africa – pointed out the challenges in combating the climate emergency on the booming continent of 1.2 billion people, and in inspiring the world’s response.

“African activists are doing so much,” Nakate said. “It gets so frustrating when no one really cares about them”.

Sweden Africa Climate
Greta Thunberg in front of a video link featuring figures including Makenna Muigai, Ndoni Mcunu Vanessa Nakate and Ayakha Melithafa (Pontus Lundahl/TT/AP)

Muigai pointed to a recent locust outbreak in parts of east Africa which threatens food security for millions of people in countries including Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somalia and is moving towards South Sudan and Uganda.

Challenges include everything from deforestation to bad energy policies, she said. They also include changes in storm intensity that brought two devastating cyclones to Mozambique a year ago, Mcunu added, and a recent drought crisis in South Africa’s Cape Town region, highlighted by Melithafa.

“The narrative we have is Africans can adapt to this. That is actually not true,” Mcunu said.

Stark warnings

The warnings have been stark for Africa. No continent will be struck more severely by climate breakdown, the UN Environment Programme has said.

Africa has 15% of the world’s population, yet is likely to “shoulder nearly 50% of the estimated global climate change adaptation costs”, according to the African Development Bank, which noted that seven of the 10 countries considered most vulnerable to the climate emergency are in Africa: Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Chad, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Ethiopia, and Eritrea.

Energy-related CO2 emissions in Africa to date represent “around 2% of cumulative global emissions”, the International Energy Agency explained last year.

In some cases, it’s difficult to persuade people to care more about climate breakdown because there are so many other pressing everyday issues such as poverty, unemployment and gender-based violence, Melithafa said. “That’s hard for the global north to understand.”

Instead, people should work to hold more developed countries accountable for producing the bulk of emissions that contribute to the climate emergency, the activists argued.

Focus

Thunberg firmly kept the spotlight on the activists from African countries.

“I’m not the reason why we’re here”, she said, later adding: “We are fighting for the exact same cause.”

The press conference came a week after the Associated Press cropped Nakate out of a photo at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The AP has apologised and acknowledged mistakes in sending out the cropped photo on 24 January and in how the news organisation initially reacted. The AP has said it will expand diversity training worldwide as a result.

Nakate said she was sad the photo incident occurred but added she was “very optimistic about this” as it has drawn global attention to climate activists in Africa and the crises there.

Switzerland Davos Forum
The photo that Vanessa Nakate was cropped out of (Markus Schreiber/AP)

Share128Tweet80
Previous Post

Maasai leaders visit British museums in attempt to decolonise collections

Next Post

Death toll at 259 as more coronavirus cases confirmed

Next Post
Death toll at 259 as more coronavirus cases confirmed

Death toll at 259 as more coronavirus cases confirmed

Britain leaves the EU but Johnson's Brexit saga is far from over

Australian wildfires burning out of control in new areas

Campaigner criticises government over failure to tackle domestic violence crisis

Campaigner criticises government over failure to tackle domestic violence crisis

University of York student is one of two UK coronavirus patients

Please login to join discussion
horoscope
Horoscopes

Horoscope today: your 24-hour briefing for life, love, and more

by Steve Topple
22 May 2025
Israel Netanyahu
Analysis

Verbal condemnation of Israel from European leaders is not enough

by Alaa Shamali
21 May 2025
TransActual toilet Supreme Court
News

Trans advocacy organisation unveils “Third Toilet” outside Supreme Court

by HG
21 May 2025
Labour polling Starmer
Analysis

New poll shows Labour’s pandering to the far right is failing miserably

by Ed Sykes
21 May 2025
Jeremy Corbyn
Analysis

Jeremy Corbyn suggests a new party will be in place before 2026 elections

by Ed Sykes
21 May 2025
  • Contact
  • About & FAQ
  • Get our Daily News Email
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy

The Canary
PO Box 71199
LONDON
SE20 9EX

Canary Media Ltd – registered in England. Company registration number 09788095.

For guest posting, contact [email protected]

For other enquiries, contact: [email protected]

The Canary is owned and run by independent journalists and volunteers, NOT offshore billionaires.

You can write for us, or support us by making a regular or one-off donation.

© Canary Media Ltd 2024, all rights reserved | Website by Monster | Hosted by Krystal | Privacy Settings

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • UK
    • Global
    • Analysis
    • Trending
  • Editorial
  • Features
    • Features
    • Environment
    • Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Money
    • Science
    • Business
    • Tech
    • Travel
    • Sport & Gaming
  • Media
    • Video
    • Cartoons
  • Opinion

© 2023 Canary - Worker's co-op.

Before you go, have you seen...?

horoscope
Horoscopes
Steve Topple

Horoscope today: your 24-hour briefing for life, love, and more

Israel Netanyahu
Analysis
Alaa Shamali

Verbal condemnation of Israel from European leaders is not enough

TransActual toilet Supreme Court
News
HG

Trans advocacy organisation unveils “Third Toilet” outside Supreme Court

Labour polling Starmer
Analysis
Ed Sykes

New poll shows Labour’s pandering to the far right is failing miserably

ADVERTISEMENT
Analysis
Nathan Spears

Vote for the Press Photograph of the Year 2024

Image by Burkard Meyendriesch from Pixabay
Feature
Nathan Spears

Why Santiago Ways is the Leading Choice for Walking the Camino de Santiago

Environment
Nathan Spears

EU elections point to growing public desire for new policymaking approach in Brussels