Can young climate activists save Africa?

On Tuesday, December 15 at 19:30 GMT:
A new generation of climate justice activists has come of age in the five years since 196 countries agreed to sign the Paris Agreement, a wide-ranging accord which aims to limit global heating and avert a global catastrophe. And with Africa facing disproportionate impacts of climate change, young people across the continent are now leading the fight for urgent and effective action.

Young activists from countries including Uganda, Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya are demanding that domestic, regional and global decision-makers take climate change more seriously, not least because younger generations will be the inheritors of a world profoundly altered by global heating. The impact of climate change is already particularly acute in Africa, with people across the continent already facing extreme weather conditions ranging from floods to prolonged drought – affecting crop yields, provoking tensions over access to land, and driving migration. Food and water insecurity is already widespread in Africa and young people across the continent are bracing for a challenging future.

With populations across sub-Saharan Africa among the youngest in the world, youth campaigners are now encouraging other people to act directly within their own communities and change the conversation on climate action and justice. Advocates have launched initiatives to plant carbon-absorbing trees, promote climate education in schools, and highlight the need to create green jobs for young people.

But with Africa only producing between 2 and 3 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions, young campaigners across the continent are also trying to convince world leaders – including those representing the worst polluters on Earth – to act more decisively and give Africa a fighting chance in mitigating the impact effects of global heating while preventing world temperatures from rising even further. And they are working with other young climate justice advocates around the world to hold older generations in decision-making roles to account.

We’ll be joined by three activists to hear how they are working to ensure a just and stable future for Africa. Join the conversation.

In this episode of The Stream we are joined by:
Hilda Nakabuye, @NakabuyeHildaF
Founder and organiser, Fridays For Future Uganda

Elizabeth Wathuti, @lizwathuti
Environmentalist and climate activist
greengenerationinitiative.org

Oladosu Adenike, @the_ecofeminist
Climate activist and Nigeria Ambassador, Fridays for Future
womenandcrisis.blogspot.com