Youth and women must be involved in climate action

Read More

As COP27 comes to an end and African delegations return to focus on the implementation of policy and programmes on adaptation, mitigation, the just energy transition and setting financial requirements on a work programme that sets clear goals and targets, we need to start advocating for youth and women to play a part in this process and what effective and substantive inclusion should look like at institutional level in Africa.

African countries either intend to or have already started taking climate action to cut carbon emissions and adapt to the effects of climate change. Countries such as Ghana, Morocco and Uganda are to translate their nationally determined contributions commitments into implementation strategies capable of attracting investments, while countries such as Nigeria, Mauritania and Zimbabwe are in the process of developing national adaptation plans.

Youth and women could play a fundamental role in strengthening and enabling the transition to climate-resilient development in Africa through responsive policies, plans and programmes towards transformed economies, healthy ecosystems and human well-being that embody intersectional interventions.

The main reason marginalised groups must be involved in the design and implementation of climate response actions is they are the most affected by climate change andcan ensure equal sharing of benefits. 

They possess unique knowledge, innovation and local experiences that could shape critical decision-making that is effective to combat climate change. Their participation is crucial and, if neglected, will amount to inequitable climate action in Africa. 

The question is how should African countries include youth and women in their climate action processes.

African governments and multilateral institutions need to make political and financial commitments to support the contributions and substantive inclusion of youth and women at all levels. 

For example, policies and national adaptation strategies need to be developed with youth and women (not just in consultation), strict youth and women quotas need to be set for every decision-making body at all levels and procurement processes need to give preference to youth and women-owned entities. 

This holds the governments accountable to achieve gender and youth parity in environmental decision-making institutions. In South Africa the Climate Change Commission consists of one person who has been identified as a youth out of the 34 commissioners and 40% of the commission is composed of women.

The African Union, regional economic communities such as the Southern African Development Community and the Economic Community of West African States and national governments must implement a climate action fund, which provides funding for formal and informal projects on mitigation and adaptation to climate change proposed by youth and women’s organisations or NGOs that work with youth and women. This should be coupled with technical skills support, partnership and collaborations and capacity building in project implementation.

Working together with learning institutions, African countries need to develop climate change educational programmes and knowledge resources for marginalised groups to be capacitated on climate change. 

Capacity-building, environmental awareness and information exchange, with a vision to foster a generation of environmentally conscious citizens capable of positive action is important. 

Climate education, including technical environmental training, can increase their resilience and build their capacity to work with climate information and lead climate solutions.

Youth and women face multiple, interconnected barriers that restrict their ability to effect change. Resource allocation gaps make it difficult for them to contribute to climate action. 

For example, land tenure systems and access to land remain an impediment to youth development and gender equality in forestry and agriculture. Collective land tenure systems tend to assume youth and gender inclusion, so proactive intersectional measures to achieve access are crucial.

Supporting youth and women entrepreneurs in climate change innovation is important. Increasing their participation in the labour force will sufficiently increase the world’s GDP for financing sustainable development. It offers youth and women many entrepreneurial avenues for further use of renewable energy, which in turn mitigates carbon emissions. 

This can be achieved by accelerators and incubators that offer capital and minimise red tape, appointing more young people and women to the boards of venture capital firms and banks that invest in climate change innovations at community level and recruit more youth and women in “green” jobs.

African institutions and governments need to avoid youth and women tokenism, where young people and women have little or no substantial influence in decision-making and the design and implementation of programmes and policies. 

Investing in youth and women creates a ripple effect that yields multiple benefits, not only for individual youth and women, but also for families, neighbourhoods and countries. 

Although youth and women on the continent are pushing their way forward into decision-making spaces, their involvement remains fragmented because of a lack of access to resources, expertise and opportunities.

Moving away from fossil-fuel-based economies to clean, environmentally friendly economies is a complex task that requires changes to many social and economic systems. Therefore, co-creating solutions to climate change through the direct involvement of youth and women in the design, implementation and evaluation of all climate action is crucial — not as beneficiaries but as partners.

The views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Mail & Guardian.