ActionAid focusses programmes on needy communities
Agro-ecology presents an opportunity to transition Africa from food insecurity to having food sustainable agricultural practices which could improve food security, reduce poverty and improve resilience to climate change.
This was said by Executive Director at ActionAid (A-A) International Kenya, Susan Otieno during the 'Global South Journalists Science Cafe: The flows harming our planet.'
She said in Africa, both conflict and climate change are human-caused problems that can be ended through human actions hence the need for fair climate justice fund and digitalisation in Africa.
“Climate Justice is inherently political and we must hold our governments accountable but most importantly, the countries in the North and also the major polluters,” Otieno said.
AA – federation on social justice and humanitarian response is based in more than 45 countries, but has activities in 70+ countries.
ActionAid International Climate Justice Lead, Teresa Anderson explained that social justice includes; economic justice, women’s rights and of course climate justice.
She noted that they work on climate justice because climate change is escalating humanitarian disasters. “It is reversing all of the work we do to advance economic justice, women’s rights, children’s access to education, to address poverty,” she said.
She said it is important to talk about climate justice and not just climate change, in order to put social justice considerations at the heart of climate action.
“We need equity. Wealthy countries, corporations, people of the Global North have been industrialising and polluting for a century or more.
“Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere today include those that were released by Global North countries 20, 50, 100, 150 years ago. Global South countries have only recently begun to industrialise and release GHGs – if at all. So we have to look at who is responsible for causing climate change,” she said, noting that when the carbon budget, when viewed through the lens of historical responsibility, shows this is a big problem.
She added that they are now looking at “historical responsibility” to work on the injustice of climate change and probably the main reason why the problem has not been addressed.
“We need to establish why it is that the countries, the people, the corporations that cause climate change, aren’t the ones experiencing the most severe impacts. Instead it is really the people, the communities who have done the least to cause climate change who experience the most severe impacts,” she said.
She said within the Global South it is communities living in poverty who are most affected by floods, droughts, rising sea levels. Farmers face crop failure, loss of livelihoods and it is marginalised people whose houses are destroyed by disasters.
She added that Climate injustice also plays a role on Gender Based Violence (GBV) as women and girls are mostly affected.
“Girls are taken out of school before their brothers when there is financial constraints and women and children are 14 times more likely to die during disasters than men, for many reasons,” she said, explaining that, women skip meals first; experience a burden of care; might not swim and often likely to be carrying the children when the floods come.
Women farmers don’t get support from government extension services; and have lower literacy levels, less access to information about adaptation, weather predictions, disaster alerts; and Women are all too often left out of community or government decision making processes and consultations, meaning their needs and challenges are systematically ignored.
She noted that 2023 was the hottest year since records began and 2024 is also experiencing the same humid temperatures adding to the crisis of climate change challenges.
“2024 is almost certain to be the warmest year on record by quite some margin. There has been floods in Congo, drought across Southern Africa and heatwaves in South Asia and Southeaast Asia as well as rare and relentless cyclones in East Africa among other climate changes faced by the world,” she said, noting that equity means recognising that those most affected by climate change have done the least to cause the problem.
“Wealthy polluting countries have the most historical responsibility for the climate crisis. They need to take the most urgent action to cut GHGS, and to provide climate finance because communities in the Global South need support, especially finance for addressing loss and damage as well as recovering in the aftermath of climate disasters,” she said.
This was said by Executive Director at ActionAid (A-A) International Kenya, Susan Otieno during the 'Global South Journalists Science Cafe: The flows harming our planet.'
She said in Africa, both conflict and climate change are human-caused problems that can be ended through human actions hence the need for fair climate justice fund and digitalisation in Africa.
“Climate Justice is inherently political and we must hold our governments accountable but most importantly, the countries in the North and also the major polluters,” Otieno said.
AA – federation on social justice and humanitarian response is based in more than 45 countries, but has activities in 70+ countries.
ActionAid International Climate Justice Lead, Teresa Anderson explained that social justice includes; economic justice, women’s rights and of course climate justice.
She noted that they work on climate justice because climate change is escalating humanitarian disasters. “It is reversing all of the work we do to advance economic justice, women’s rights, children’s access to education, to address poverty,” she said.
She said it is important to talk about climate justice and not just climate change, in order to put social justice considerations at the heart of climate action.
“We need equity. Wealthy countries, corporations, people of the Global North have been industrialising and polluting for a century or more.
“Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere today include those that were released by Global North countries 20, 50, 100, 150 years ago. Global South countries have only recently begun to industrialise and release GHGs – if at all. So we have to look at who is responsible for causing climate change,” she said, noting that when the carbon budget, when viewed through the lens of historical responsibility, shows this is a big problem.
She added that they are now looking at “historical responsibility” to work on the injustice of climate change and probably the main reason why the problem has not been addressed.
“We need to establish why it is that the countries, the people, the corporations that cause climate change, aren’t the ones experiencing the most severe impacts. Instead it is really the people, the communities who have done the least to cause climate change who experience the most severe impacts,” she said.
She said within the Global South it is communities living in poverty who are most affected by floods, droughts, rising sea levels. Farmers face crop failure, loss of livelihoods and it is marginalised people whose houses are destroyed by disasters.
She added that Climate injustice also plays a role on Gender Based Violence (GBV) as women and girls are mostly affected.
“Girls are taken out of school before their brothers when there is financial constraints and women and children are 14 times more likely to die during disasters than men, for many reasons,” she said, explaining that, women skip meals first; experience a burden of care; might not swim and often likely to be carrying the children when the floods come.
Women farmers don’t get support from government extension services; and have lower literacy levels, less access to information about adaptation, weather predictions, disaster alerts; and Women are all too often left out of community or government decision making processes and consultations, meaning their needs and challenges are systematically ignored.
She noted that 2023 was the hottest year since records began and 2024 is also experiencing the same humid temperatures adding to the crisis of climate change challenges.
“2024 is almost certain to be the warmest year on record by quite some margin. There has been floods in Congo, drought across Southern Africa and heatwaves in South Asia and Southeaast Asia as well as rare and relentless cyclones in East Africa among other climate changes faced by the world,” she said, noting that equity means recognising that those most affected by climate change have done the least to cause the problem.
“Wealthy polluting countries have the most historical responsibility for the climate crisis. They need to take the most urgent action to cut GHGS, and to provide climate finance because communities in the Global South need support, especially finance for addressing loss and damage as well as recovering in the aftermath of climate disasters,” she said.
