Pan-African Climate Hearings

While climate change negotiations continue in Bangkok, dozens of women and men from across Africa will gather in Cape Town Oct. 5 to testify at pan-Africa climate hearing organized by Oxfam.

Negotiators are halfway through another round of climate talks in Bangkok - but nowhere near an agreement they pledged to achieve by December in Copenhagen on how to tackle climate change.

The lack of progress makes it hard to believe that the world's political leaders have fully grasped the magnitude of the crisis we face, or how close we are standing to the edge of disaster.

This lack of perspective is not shared by millions of Africans struggling with the grim reality of life on the front lines of the climate crisis. We will hear their stories this week as women and men from across Africa gather in Cape Town to testify at a pan-African climate hearing, to share their experiences of a changing climate.

Just as South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission bore witness to the injustice of apartheid, the many who attend this climate hearing will bear witness to the injustice of climate change. It is a fundamental injustice that the world's poorest people stand to lose the most from a crisis they did little to create.

Africa is least responsible

Africa is responsible for less than three per cent of global emissions but is hit hard by the effects of climate change. Greenhouse gas emissions are, with scientific certainty, creating floods, droughts, cyclones, sea-level rise and unpredictable seasons. The result - failed harvests, destroyed homes, water scarcity, and a growing health crisis - is already a reality for many.

The injustice will be compounded if the countries which created this crisis, and have the means to tackle it, fail to act while there is still time. This is a very real possibility. Industrialized countries - with a few exceptions - have yet to commit to their fair share of the emissions reductions which are needed to keep global temperatures in check.

They have avoided committing to specific amounts of additional funding to help poor countries adapt to a changing climate, since finance for adaptation is a valuable bargaining chip in the negotiations.

What we need

We need bold visionary leadership that goes beyond short-term self interest. Rich countries must cut their emissions by at least 40 per cent by 2020 and provide at least $150 billion a year - in addition to development aid to help poor countries adapt to a changing climate.

African governments must also show leadership. Climate change is not just an environmental problem - it is a huge threat to development. Africa's leaders must seriously engage in the international negotiations and unite in demanding a fair, ambitious and binding deal. At home, they must ensure that financing reaches vulnerable communities in ways that really make a difference.