Durban — allAfrica.com asked young, African environmental activists what they would say to the world leaders negotiating on our behalf inside the Durban International Convention Centre.
Sarah Rifaat based in Cairo, Egypt, is the Arab World Organiser for 350.org. The organisation is a grassroots movement named after the number that scientists say is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
"I'm quite mad actually at the thought that after all of this, that not even Kyoto would be the launching pad, that we would settle with something less than the Kyoto Protocol. Working with 350.org I realise that the climate crisis is very urgent. The effects are there, we see them every day, millions of people are at risk even if they don't realise it. This doesn't give us the license to just screw them over. I am really scared that after all this time and after people were so ambitious and were saying they want a better treaty, that would now be sacrificed. I'm hoping at the very least that there will be a second commitment period."
I want 350 to be on every country's agenda, for this to be the target and for countries to actually strive to reach this very concrete target. It couldn't be any more concrete. It's not something abstract. Scientists are already telling us 350 ppm (a measure of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere) and 1.5 degrees (the maximum temperature rise humanity will be able to cope with), this is what we need to reach. It's very clear what all the countries need to do."
Right now, the people and movements are gaining ground, there is change happening in the world. So I think it's time for leaders to actually note that things cannot go on are they have been, it's really foolish to think that business can continue as usual. They have to decide what type of world they want to leave for their children. How good is money when you are leaving a devastated world for your children? I don't know how people really calculate that cost."
Landry Ninteretse, an environmental activist with 350.org Africa, is the Francophone Africa organiser based in Bujumbura, Burundi.
"My message to negotiators is to go beyond their personal or national interests and think about the future of this world and the future of their own kids. Because whether black or white, from the North or the South, we are all on the same planet and there is no Planet B. Whether they like it or not, whether they commit to a second period for the Kyoto Protocol or not, if they do not address the issue of climate change and significantly reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere we are all going to suffer whether we like it or not.
It's a great challenge we are facing at the moment but with courage, leadership and responsibility, there is the possibility of addressing climate change. It would be a miserable situation if there was no solution to climate change, but thank God there we know the solution, so why not implement it?"
Simone Carolissen is a South African environmental activist with the BlueBuck Network which connects and supports youth involved in environmental and sustainability intiatives in southern Africa.
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"The message from the youth, and especially from South Africa and Africa, would be that we want action and we want it now. We are tired of waiting around for them to make decisions that won't even affect them - it will be affecting us. Their yes and no will affect us, and not them, and we are done waiting around. We are taking charge of our future and we will put pressure on them until they do something about it.
"It's us at the forefront of this battle. It's us as young people working in the communities, facing these challenges every day. We know what goes on at grassroots level, these policy makers and government official don't know what's happening on the ground. I encourage the youth to get involved in dialogue to find a constructive way forward that will be effect the change we so desperately want."
