Hi Millenial Readers,

It has been one moment! As I write this piece, I am dressed in two sweaters and a Maasai shuka. I’ve been thinking a lot about climate change recently, and the topic has overwhelmed me. I believe that most of us have been keeping up with international news, and even in our own country, we hear horrific tales. People are sleeping hungry, floods are killing thousands and destroying property, and the weather is acting unpredictably.

According to powershift Africa, the consequences of climate change are manifesting in various ways across the continent. The Horn of Africa is experiencing starvation due to three years of drought. Massive locust swarms, attracted by torrential rain in East Africa, have eaten crops. This year, severe flooding in southern Africa has resulted in hundreds of people’s deaths and tens of thousands of displacements. Malaria-carrying mosquitoes are being drawn to new locations by rising temperatures.

These disasters are exacerbated by the effects of COVID-19 and the growing prices of food and fossil fuels on a global scale. The Africa Union forecasts that the pandemic will cost the continent up to twenty million jobs and five hundred billion dollars, causing damage to direct foreign investment and tourism.

In his address to the Conferences of the Parties on Climate Change, in which he represented Africa as the Chairperson of the African Heads of State and Government on Climate Change and Kenya, President William Ruto emphasized the gravity of the problem. He stated ‘”The Horn of Africa region, including Kenya, is experiencing the worst drought in 40 years. Two consecutive years without rain have visited misery to millions of people. 2.5 million livestock have died in Kenya this year alone causing economic losses of more than USD 1.5 billion. Two days ago, we went to distribute food relief to 4.3 million affected Kenyans in an emergency programme that forced us to reallocate the budget for education and health. “

As is apparent, climate change has significant consequences. Nonetheless, I do not feel our global leaders are doing enough to mitigate the effects of this self-inflicted suffering. In his speech, President Ruto noted that lengthy discussions, delays, and procrastination had impeded actual action, and implementation and delivery have been severely affected.

Our house is on fire. Should we stand by and watch as it burns to the ground? No! I am hopeful that the situation’s urgency will lead to better policies. The moment has come to walk the talk. However, it is difficult to remain optimistic despite the ongoing COP 27. Our leaders have frequently spent most of their time skirting around the real issue and engaging in lengthy discussions but have never taken the bold steps necessary to confront the problem of climate change head-on.

We, the millennial and generation z generations, can only take modest measures to combat this issue. We can begin by taking individual steps to lessen our carbon footprint. We can also become activists and urge politicians to create policies that matter. However, we must recognize that old methods cannot change old norms.  We need a novel strategy to help us advance policies addressing climate change-related concerns.

Let us not watch from the front row as our world crumbles.

Until next time.

Fabian ✌✌✌