The foregoing was the agreement reached at the recent Africa Climate Week Summit, dubbed ‘The African Leaders Nairobi Declaration on Climate Change’ in Kenya.
Led by Kenya’s President William Ruto and African Union (AU) Commission Chairperson, Moussa Faki, they urged development partners to align their technical and financial resources towards promoting sustainable utilisation of Africa’s natural assets.
“We call upon the global community to act with urgency in reducing emissions, fulfilling its obligations, keeping past promises and supporting the continent in addressing climate change,” they declared.
Former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo (Nigeria), Salva Kiir (South Sudan), Julius Maada (Sierra Leone), Sahle-Work Zewde (Ethiopia), Ismaïl Guelleh (Djibouti), Isaias Afwerki (Eritrea) and Idriss Deby (Chad). DRC Congo Prime Minister, Sama Kyenge; Commonwealth Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland and 66 ministers from different countries attended the summit.
The leaders appealed to world leaders to consider the proposal for a global carbon taxation regime and called for affordable and accessible finance for climate-positive investments.
Ruto challenged the global community to address unjust international development financial institutions and governance frameworks.
In a related development, experts have expressed concern that air pollution has become one of the biggest threats to human health, as estimated 99 per cent of the world’s population breathes tainted air, causing about 6.7 million premature deaths each year, while 2.4 billion people are exposed to dangerous levels of household air pollution.
At an event to mark the International Day of Clean Air (IDCA) 2023, they observed that every step taken to improve air quality is one more step towards addressing the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.
United Nations Secretary General, António Guterres, said: “Our air is a common good and a common responsibility. Let us work together to clean it up, protect our health and leave a healthy planet for generations to come. We call upon everyone, from governments and corporations to civil society and individuals, to come.”
According to the experts, air pollution is the biggest environmental health risk of our time, warning that exposure can lead to stroke, heart and lung diseases, cancer and more.
“Air pollution is trans-boundary; all stakeholders have a responsibility to protect the earth’s atmosphere and ensure healthy air for everyone.”
Working together across borders and boundaries, between sectors and beyond silos will help reduce air pollution, leverage finance and investments towards air quality measures and solutions, and provide health benefits,” they asserted.
Chairman, Lagos Chapter, Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria, (APWEN), urged Nigerians to reflect on the importance of clean air and the profound impact it has on lives, communities and the planet.
Chairman of the chapter, Mrs. Atinuke Owolabi, said: “The quality of the air we breathe directly affects our health, our environment and the well-being of future generations.”
She appealed to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to consider closing the Olusosun Dump Site in Lagos, converting it into an engineering-based solution hub, to mitigate environmental and health risks.
