Today, I am on board the Greenpeace Arctic Sunrise ship, as we confront the fossil fuel company, Shell, for its role in causing climate devastation around the world – while paying nothing for this destruction. It is now a trend almost everywhere in the world, fossil fuel and oil.
Toute l'actu sur la protection de l'environnement
Today, I am on board the Greenpeace Arctic Sunrise ship, as we confront the fossil fuel company, Shell, for its role in causing climate devastation around the world – while paying nothing for this destruction. It is now a trend almost everywhere in the world, fossil fuel and oil.
Extraction are becoming the new trend and a real treasure, to a chosen few. True, governments do need money, and it seems easier and quicker for them to have it through the exploitation of fossil fuels.
Just a few days ago, Uganda launched its first drilling activities at the Kingfisher oil fields in Lake Alberty, despite criticism around the project by environmentalists. From Uganda to the DRC, it is almost the same scenario, or even worse. In 2021, the DRC government approved the auction of 27 oil blocks and three gas blocks for exploitation. This initiative, presented as a way of saving the DRC economy, is a threat to the Congo’s rainforest and peatlands. Of importance is the fact that three of the oil blocks straddle one of the world’s largest carbon sinks, estimated to store 30 billions tons of carbons.
Shell, the company activists confronted on the 31st of January, has been causing a lot of damage worldwide for many decades. Since Shell’s arrival in the Niger Delta in the 1950s, it has been involved in human rights and environmental violations. Data shows that since 1965, Shell’s carbon emissions made up 2.3% of the whole world’s TOTAL emissions.
Behind false promises, communities lives are still in danger
For more than a decade now, world leaders have been preaching a well prepared message on climate action. During global events that are becoming more like a kind of exhibition parade, they showcase themselves as being committed to fighting climate change. But the reality is totally different. While all these leaders are delaying action, thousands of people have been and are still suffering under climate impacts. In Cameroon, we have recorded several extreme weather events. In 2019, landslides caused by heavy rains killed 42 and left hundreds homeless. In September 2022, reports said floods destroyed thousands of homes. The Littoral and North regions of the country were the most affected. Data from relief web shows that in September 2022, more than 37 000 people were affected by floods and that affected populations are living with host families, in schools, or in makeshift camps.
It is saddening to think of the suffering linked to climate impacts. The destruction, displacement, loss of lives and general misery.
The confrontation at sea we organized with our activists is our way to stand firm and say enough is enough. It is our way to name and shame Shell and the wider fossil fuel industry who are shamelessly profiting from climate injustices and driving climate change. We targeted Shell, but the message we want to send to the world is for all companies in the fossil fuel and polluting industry “Stop drilling. Start paying”. This action is our way to join our voice to those of all the communities who are also rising up to take action and stand against climate criminals.
How many more people need to die or be displaced and how much more of nature needs to be destroyed before it is enough? Now is the time for these companies and governments to stop destroying and start paying for the loss or damage they have caused to lives, homes, livelihoods, language and culture. Of course there is no amount of money that can make up for the lives lost because of climate change, but people and communities who are suffering these impacts, especially in low income countries, really need help and support to rebuild their lives. We are in this together since climate change is global and not local. There is therefore a need for us to build a strong sense of community, which brings to mind Ubuntu, an African Nguni Bantu term which means “I am because you/we are”.
For a safe, fair and healthy world, we need climate justice. It is time for Shell and all other fossil fuel companies to pay for the loss and damages from their emissions and to stop expansion of their activities. Instead we must have a speedy transition to clean, accessible and affordable energy for everyone. Shell must stop drilling, and start paying. That would be justice.
Victorine Che Thoener, Senior Campaign Adviser, Greenpeace International.
Two researchers from the European Union’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) believe that the consequences of climate change on biodiversity have been largely underestimated. According to a study published on 8 January 2023 by these scientists, terrestrial animal diversity will decrease by 10% by 2050 and by 27% by 2100, which is double what was predicted until now. The Cape Floristic Region in South Africa and the island of Madagascar are particularly at risk.
Two researchers from the JRC (Joint Research Centre) based in Brussels, Belgium, are providing new information on the consequences of climate change on biodiversity. Giovanni Strona and Corey J A. Bradshaw report on these new elements in a study published on 8 January 2023. Increasing estimates of the decline in biodiversity, caused in particular by global warming, the two researchers indicate that terrestrial animal diversity will decrease by 10% by 2050 and by 27% by 2100, i.e. double what has been predicted until now.
The scientists obtained these figures from simulations carried out using supercomputers. Their role was to recreate a virtual planet by taking into account as many parameters as possible, such as the evolution of temperatures, the atmosphere, the oceans, and different biomes from current climate forecasts and those concerning soil degradation. « Although theory identifies coextinctions as the main driver of biodiversity loss, their role on a global scale has not yet been estimated. We subjected a global model of interconnected terrestrial vertebrate food webs to future (2020-2100) climate and land-use change, » they explain.
Carnivores and omnivores most at risk
The study says that the decline in animal biodiversity under global warming will be most pronounced at the top of the food chain, where carnivores and omnivores are found. Felines such as lions and wolves will be threatened, as they feed on herbivores and prevent them from proliferating and destroying vegetation.
Spatially, the major losses of wildlife are likely to be in the « hot spots », i.e. the areas with the highest biodiversity. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) currently lists 36 hotspots, including the Cape Floristic Region in South Africa, southwestern Australia, the island of Madagascar, the Horn of Africa, the mountains of East Africa and Arabia, the Guinean forest of West Africa (from Guinea to Cameroon), and the coastal forests of East Africa and the coastal strip between Somalia and Mozambique.
In its sixth assessment report on climate change, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that global warming could cause the disappearance of more than half of Africa’s bird and mammal species by 2100. To avoid this catastrophe, « the sixth mass extinction », « more intensive park management and the removal of fences that prevent species from migrating to less drought-prone areas are important first steps to protect wildlife, » says Philip Wandera, a lecturer at the Catholic University of East Africa in Kenya.
At the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) to combat desertification, which ended on 20 May 2022 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, African states committed to restoring 1 billion hectares of degraded land by 2030. The aim is to reverse the decline in biodiversity caused by climate change.
Fanta Mabo
AFRICA: Animal diversity will fall by 10% by 2050, says new study
Two researchers from the European Union’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) believe that the consequences of climate change on biodiversity have been largely underestimated. According to a study published on 8 January 2023 by these scientists, terrestrial animal diversity will decrease by 10% by 2050 and by 27% by 2100, which is double what was predicted until now. The Cape Floristic Region in South Africa and the island of Madagascar are particularly at risk.
On the side-lines of the African Peoples Counter COP which began on October 17, the Corporate Accountability and Public Participation (CAPPA) will be launching a four-country report titled Impact of Climate Change on Frontline Communities in Africa: Case study of Nigeria, Cameroon, Togo, and South Africa.
The report will be unveiled at a session of the Counter COP titled Amplifying the Voices of Frontline Communities in Africa on Friday October 21, 2022, at 11am-1pm GMT.
Impacts of Climate Change in Frontline Communities in Africa documents the challenges faced by communities in Nigeria, Cameroon, Togo, and South Africa and captures their vulnerability to climate change. It captures the testimonials of local community people, especially women who bear the burdens of climate change but are not part of or considered relevant in the decision-making processes to address the crisis.
The report details climate impacts on Okun Alfa community, once a leisure resort in Lagos, Nigeria which is now at the mercy of the Atlantic’s raging waters. The plight of the Okun Alfa community is exacerbated by the Eko Atlantic City real estate project promoted by the state and the $19 billion Dangote Refinery owned by Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man.
In northern Cameroon, the Kakou and Ouro Garga communities struggle with climate change induced drought which has led to a decrease in agricultural yields and disruption of the agricultural calendars that existed for generations. In the two communities the cost of food has skyrocketed, forcing families to contend with poverty and malnutrition.
In Togo, the Doevi Kope community, which had rich vegetation cover forests in the 1970S is now seriously threatened by coastal erosion and coastal flooding. The impacts are worsened by the activities of Bolloré Africa Logistics, the company that is currently constructing the Port of Lomé.
Eldorado and Katlehong communities in South Africa contend with incessant exposure to drought and heat waves that is now adversely affecting farming and leaving young people unemployed, desperate, and vulnerable. The report also recommends holding Big Polluters accountable for the climate crisis as well as concrete recommendations to government, civil society, and other critical interventionist agencies.
The report was written by Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa, African Centre for Advocacy, Gender CC South Africa, and Centre for Environmental Justice Togo with support from Corporate Accountability.
To participate in the launch of the report on Impacts of Climate Change in Frontline Communities in Africa, register here:
https://cappaafrica-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYkdemtqDosH9fqN7GLUviYF_8OgFmui86X
For further information
Philip Jakpor
Director of Programmes
Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa
+234 803 725 6939
New report catalogues climate impacts on African communities
On the side-lines of the African Peoples Counter COP which began on October 17, the Corporate Accountability and Public Participation (CAPPA) will be launching a four-country report titled Impact of Climate Change on Frontline Communities in Africa: Case study of Nigeria, Cameroon, Togo, and South Africa.
Algerian firefighters have managed to bring under control most of the fires that have killed and ravaged hundreds of hectares of forest in the north of the country. After deploring the heavy human toll of another forest fire in northern Algeria, the authorities are investigating the criminal origins of a disaster that exacerbates global warming.
The public prosecutor’s office in Souk Ahras in northeastern Algeria, where an entire family perished in the flames and was buried on 18 August 2022, announced the arrest of an arsonist in a forest near the town of 500,000 inhabitants. According to the gendarmerie, three men involved in fires were also arrested near Al Tarf, also in northern Algeria. These arrests reinforce the Algerian authorities’ hypothesis of a criminal hand behind the fires that ravaged the north-east of Algeria for 48 hours.
A failing fire-fighting system
The provisional death toll from the bush fires that broke out on 17 August 2022 in the country is 38, with 30 victims, including 11 children and 6 women. As with the fires of 2021, when more than 100 people died, the high number of victims has led to a wave of criticism against the government, which is accused of failure. Experts point to shortcomings in the fire-fighting system and point to the lack of bomber planes, the lack of forest maintenance and the absence of a comprehensive fire-fighting strategy.
The Algerian Directorate of Civil Protection estimates the number of fires that have destroyed hundreds of hectares of forest since the beginning of August 2022 at around 150. This phenomenon is becoming more frequent every year due to climate change, which is reflected in droughts and heat waves, but also due to human, criminal or involuntary factors.
According to the European Space Agency (ESA), 70% of the world’s burnt land is in Africa. African fires account for 25-35% of African greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. A forest fire produces greenhouse gases and at the same time releases the CO2 previously stored by the trees. In doing so, it contributes to global warming, of which the African continent is the first victim. In addition, it deprives local populations of the many ecosystem services provided by the forest, the most important of which is water retention.
Fanta Mabo
ALGERIA: Forest fires, authorities suspect arsonists
Algerian firefighters have managed to bring under control most of the fires that have killed and ravaged hundreds of hectares of forest in the north of the country. After deploring the heavy human toll of another forest fire in northern Algeria, the authorities are investigating the criminal origins of a disaster that exacerbates global warming.
The inhabitants of Kakou and Ouro Garga are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. In these two localities in the north of Cameroon, extreme weather phenomena such as floods cause diseases such as cholera, typhoid and malaria to proliferate, particularly affecting children. In a study carried out in the run-up to the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), the African Center for Advocacy presents the daily lives of these two communities, located on the front line of the climate affected regions.
« The variation in rainfall, sometimes excessive or rare (depending on the year), causes flooding, which in turn leads to diseases such as cholera, typhoid, malaria, and diseases related to child nutrition, » says Marceline Ndeomie, a 41-year-old farmer living in the village of Ouro Garga, in northern Cameroon. Her testimony is one of a series contained in a report released on the 5th of August 2022 by the non-governmental organisation (NGO) African Center for Advocacy (ACA). The
Northern part of Cameroon is one of the hottest regions in the country, with an average maximum temperature of 35 degrees per day. The climate is very hot, with an annual average of 35 degrees, but there are few truly tropical and humid months. It is hot, to very hot all year round. This negatively affects the daily life of the local people, both economically and socially.
« Before, fishermen had a daily income of 30,000 to 50,000 CFA francs (about $47 to $78) per day, which allowed them to meet the basic needs of their families. But today, the drying up of the waterways and the invasion of aquatic weeds have made fish scarce. The fishermen earn barely 2 dollars a day. The children, especially the village girls, no longer go to school, » says Al Hadji Saliou, president of the fishermen’s association in Kakou, another village in the northern region of Cameroon.
ACA advocates for communities affected by climate change
Two months before the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), the ACA report on the vulnerability of the populations of northern Cameroon to the effects of climate change intends to move the lines. « COP26 failed to recognise the urgency of the climate crisis. As we head towards COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, new mechanisms need to be put in place to make loss and damage funding accessible to communities on the frontline of the climate crisis, such as those in Kakou and Ouro Garga, » says Younoussa Abbosouka, ACA’s programme officer.
The NGO lobbies to ensure that the needs and knowledge of communities vulnerable to climate change are taken into account in development policies and global conferences. Through this, the African Center for Advocacy helped to get loss and damage on the agenda at COP27.
Fanta Mabo
COP27: grievances from northern Cameroon
The inhabitants of Kakou and Ouro Garga are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. In these two localities in the north of Cameroon, extreme weather phenomena such as floods cause diseases such as cholera, typhoid and malaria to proliferate, particularly affecting children. In a study carried out in the run-up to the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), the African Center for Advocacy presents the daily lives of these two communities, located on the front line of the climate affected regions.