My name is Caroline Njeri Wanjiku, I am a 24 years old student at the Technical University of Mombasa, Kwale campus.
I know your in-tray is full, but the moment I received communication that I would be attending the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of Parties 25 (CoP 25) in Madrid, Spain, I knew this was the perfect time to reach out to you.
When I saw a picture of you reading the Building Bridges Initiative Report, I was curious and impatient at the same time, I wanted to get a hold of the report and scan through the pages, I wanted to know what is in it for nature, for future generations, for the youth and whether preservation and restoration of our home – nature, is captured and prioritised?
A day later, I got to access the digital version of the report via a newspaper link.
I pressed Ctrl + F and typed ‘environment’ then ‘nature’, then ‘youth’, then ‘biodiversity’, then ‘sustainable’ and ‘unsustainable’ as well. I started reading the report page by page.
I could see my dream for Kenya’s future in chapter three ( 46, bullet 1v) of the report.
A call to ‘respect and sustain our environment as a bequest which we received and will impart to future generations.’
But it is still vague, how can I use my voice to influence climate action at the local and national level to close the 1.5°C while ensuring the representation of youth?
Chapter 7, 123, B of the BBI report states that ‘Secure future generations from unsustainable debt and environmental destruction by utilising genuine and transparent public participation — through the proposed Office of the Public Participation Rapporteur — to balance the need for greater economic growth with the need to protect our environment and biodiversity for future generations.’
There is no better opportunity than this to advocate for greater economic growth at a global level while protecting our environment and biodiversity for future generations, as recommended by the report while taking into consideration climate change impacts.
Mr President, will you be attending CoP 25? I will be there. I will tell the world that the young people of Kenya are ready to tackle climate change.
If you care about the youth, please tell them too that we are ready to rewrite our story and heal our ailing home - that is nature because without nature we cease to exist.
Climate Change for us is a reality, the extreme rains this season, so soon after the long dry spell, landslides and floods should raise an alarm.
We need a world we can live in; not struggle on how to survive extreme weather conditions.
Our natural resources are getting depleted faster than they can replenish. It is high time we ensure that we utilise them sustainably because of nature matters.
As young people, we have a longer shelf life left, and if we do not take action now we shall face greater consequences.
Let's make nature conservation part of the Building Bridges Initiative for us and the generations to come.
I can make a strong addition to team Kenya in Madrid, Spain as we up our ambition, action and commitments on combating climate change.
Sincerely,
Caroline Njeri Wanjiku
