The Greenpeace Africa through its Executive Director Dr. Oulie Keita has welcomed today’s agreement at the end of COP28 saying that it represents a hopeful stride in our collective journey limiting warming to 1.5 degrees. However, its true value will be measured by the tangible actions it prompts, particularly in the communities that have long borne the brunt of climate change. These communities have clearly articulated their needs: a swift, just, and complete transition away from fossil fuels. We stand in solidarity with them in advocating for this essential shift.
The major contributors to climate change must be held accountable for their actions and are made responsible for the environmental damage they have caused. Unfortunately, this agreement falls short in outlining specific strategies for financing this energy transition and ensuring that historical polluters accept and act upon their responsibilities.
Africa is blessed with abundant renewable resources, like solar and wind energy. Our investments must pivot decisively towards these sustainable avenues. Our collective future, our people’s well-being, and our planet’s health depend on it. As we move forward, let us unite as a continent not in pursuing short-term profits but in a shared commitment to the best interests of our people, future generations, and the very Earth we inhabit.
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Africa’s path to true liberation lies in achieving climate justice. Fossil fuels represent not just an environmental threat but a perpetuation of oppression, exploitation, and a form of neo-colonialism. Our continent endures the harshest impacts of the climate crisis, and it is incumbent upon our leaders to pursue solutions that address these challenges and seek restitution for the harm inflicted”
Kaisa Kosonen, Greenpeace International said: “The signal that the fossil industry has been afraid of is there: ending the fossil fuel era, along with a call to massively scale up renewables and efficiency this decade, but it’s buried under many dangerous distractions and without sufficient means to achieve it in a fair and fast manner.
You won’t find the words ‘phase out’ in the text, but that’s what the equitable transition away from fossil fuels in line with 1.5°C and science will necessitate, when implemented sustainably. And that’s what we’re determined to make happen, now more than ever. The outcome leaves poorer countries well short of the resources they will need for renewable energy transition and other needs. For the many goals of the agreement to be realised, rich countries will need to significantly step up financial support and make fossil fuel polluters pay. Only last year the fossil fuel industry made $4 trillion in profits, and they need to start paying for the harm and destruction they have caused.
This is not the historical deal that the world needed: It has many loopholes and shortcomings. But history will be made if all those nearly 130 countries, businesses, local leaders and civil society voices, who came together to form an unprecedented force for change, now take this determination and make the fossil fuel phase out happen. Most urgently that means stopping all those expansion plans that are pushing us over the 1.5°C limit right now.”
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Ghiwa Nakat, Executive Director, Greenpeace MENA, added that “COP28 has sent an unprecedented signal to the world that the curtain has been raised for the end of the fossil fuel era. We commend the efforts of the COP presidency to conclude with a final acknowledgement of the need to transition away from fossil fuels and to mobilise climate finance with more than $700million pledged to the operationalised Loss and Damage Fund. But communities on the frontline of the climate catastrophe need more than this. They need to see an unwavering and resolute commitment to a rapid, equitable, and well-funded phaseout of all fossil fuels – together with a comprehensive finance package for developing countries to transition to renewables and cope with escalating climate impacts. We leave Dubai knowing that hope is still alive but our mission is far from over”
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry