NGARI: Youth must raise their voices, demand climate injustice

This year's discussions at COP27 began when we witnessed devastating floods, unprecedented heat waves, severe droughts and storms, all unequivocal signs of the unfolding climate emergency.

At the same time, millions of people across the world are confronting the impacts of simultaneous crises in energy, food, water and cost of living, aggravated by severe geopolitical conflicts and tensions.

Luckily, this year's COP27 was key for the young people since it was the first to have a youth environmental council to deliberate on efforts by young people on how they are affected and what they can do to reduce vulnerability.

COP27, commonly referred to as “the African COP,” allowed Africa to spotlight its special needs, circumstances and opportunities.

And for the umpteenth time, young people in Kenya are continually being challenged to spearhead efforts to tackle the climate change menace, which continues to threaten livelihoods in most parts of the country, especially the the northern part of Kenya.

Today, we are witnessing devastating climate change effects in arid and semi-arid lands such as Turkana, Marsabit, and Narok.

As a matter of fact, climate change is here and as its impact intensifies over time, it is the children and young people of today who will face the worst effects in future.

When talking about fighting climate change in the 21st century, climate justice is key. It is often that we are presented with the idea that everyone around the world should hold hands and together fight against climate change, lowering emissions and reducing waste.

On the surface, this concept is positive. However, real climate justice is not just about what to do about going forward but also looking back in the past and identifying the sources of the issues.

Developed nations such as the US have had decades of pollution on their backs which have gotten the world to where it is right now while also having a head start in terms of industrialization at a time when climate change was not considered a world issue.

The countries of Africa have contributed comparatively little to anthropogenic emissions, yet the continent feels the impacts of global warming in many different ways.

Meanwhile, emerging economies such as Kenya are the ones bearing the most from climate change since they do not have a safety network to fall back on and ones that will have a harder time industrializing considering that they need to accomplish this in a responsible eco-friendly manner.

Therefore, climate justice should be adapted to the individual needs of each nation while holding  countries accountable for their past mistakes. At the same time, there should be a collective effort put into helping developing nations protect themselves from the catastrophes that are already affecting them due to the crisis.

As stated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, every person under the age of 18 has the right to participate in the decision-making processes that impact them. This includes a public forum to express their views, and support for them to do it.

If today's youth are to become the motor of tomorrow’s economic takeoff, policy makers must make concerted efforts to enhance youth participation in policy making. 

Lastly, they should engage with young people as active citizens, architects of their own future. They should provide youth with quality education, access to health services and the training and support they need to obtain decent and sustainable employment.

Jackson Ngari is a communication and media student at Rongo University