Africa: Faith Communities Meet to Confront the Unethical ‘Scramble for Africa’s Carbon Space’
By staff writer
NAIROBI--- Delegates from different regions will be in a two days meeting at the UN Complex in Nairobi, Gigiri seeking true international resolve to cut emissions without which Africa faces climate disaster. The sessions will start today 7 June 2011, 4.00 pm and end 8 June 2001, 4.30 pm.
In attendance will be Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka, Vice-President, Republic of Kenya, Rev. Dr. Andre Karamaga, General Secretary, All Africa Conference of Churches, Rev. Dr. Andre Karamaga, General Secretary, All Africa Conference of Churches, Bishop Geoff Davies, Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute among others.
Key on the discussion will be the current global pledges to emissions cuts that leave Earth on track for between 2.5–4 degrees of warming despite 17 years of negotiations to cut warming emissions. This has been universally agreed to be catastrophic. A rough rule of thumb for Africa is that global climate trends will affect the continent 50% more – the catastrophe would be far greater for Africa.
At the end of May, International Energy Agency (IEA) chief economist Fatih Birol warned that despite the recent global recession, global emissions in 2010 were the highest on record, making it close to impossible to keep global temperatures below two degrees, widely considered a likely threshold for dangerous climate change.
There is little sign that the world’s nations are yet truly serious about the emissions cuts that are so badly needed. The negotiations are mostly about avoiding responsibility, not accepting it. Short-term economic growth, profit and narrow conceptions of national interest dominate, not securing but in fact destroying the prospects for global long-term human development.
Africans are responsible for a tiny proportion of global emissions, both current and historic, yet are highly likely to be amongst the world’s most affected people, threatened by unprecedented droughts, floods, extreme weather, diminishing food security, poverty, forced migration and increased conflict. Tragically, all too many Africans assume that the increasing hardships forced upon them are acts of God, not realising that they are in fact ever more the consequence of human actions.
With the climate negotiations returning to Africa in 2011, in Durban in December, African faith leaders are meeting to agree on a declaration of what a truly moral and ethical approach to climate change demands – to restore love, compassion, justice and equity to the heart of our considerations – and to set about holding business and political leaders fully accountable for their actions.
According to the UN, the faith communities are slow to move, but could be an immense power for good if they take on this responsibility – it is the fervent hope of this conference that they will.