As the climate emergency worsens, it is more important than ever to address our environmental crisis.
The world has borne witness, firsthand, to the devastating impacts of the climate emergency as extreme events like floods, cyclones, droughts, heatwaves, and wildfires are happening more frequently and with more severity, and driving millions of people into food insecurity, water stress, poverty, and illness.
The science is clear, the climate emergency is a real and pressing issue.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)'s sixth assessment report sounded a "final warning" that the planet is warming at an alarming rate, and human activity is the primary cause. The world is facing irreversible damage caused by rising greenhouse gas emissions, and the changes we experience will only increase with additional warming. The IPCC report shows that human actions still have the potential to determine the future course. The comprehensive assessment of climate science published by the IPCC marshalled the work of hundreds of experts and peer-reviewed studies.
The report's central message is this - the climate crisis is worsening, and we must act now.
Storytelling - The Key to Climate Action?
How do we support communities to take urgent climate action?
One powerful way to do this is through storytelling. By tapping into Africa's culture of telling stories to share ideas, important information and warnings, we can raise awareness of the climate crisis, build community support for climate action and inspire people to do what we so urgently need to do.
A gathering of journalists and climate action champions convened to deliberate on the significance of storytelling in promoting climate adaptation measures in Africa. The event, facilitated by Acquire by Pin Africa, sought to foster a broader range of narratives, enabling climate information to reach African communities more effectively.
Africa is the most vulnerable continent to the climate emergency, despite contributing only 3.8% of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Carbon Disclosure Project Africa Report. This is because Africa is in many places hot, and dry with a large population that relies on agriculture for its livelihood. Agriculture is the backbone of Africa's economy and accounts for the majority of livelihoods across the continent that are being impacted by extreme weather events.
However, the voices of journalists from the Global North often dominate conversations about climate. This is a problem because it can lead to a narrow focus on the impacts of the climate crisis in the Global North, and it can also marginalise the voices of people from the Global South who are disproportionately affected. The panelists highlighted the importance of storytelling in driving climate action.
Storytelling has the potential to raise awareness about the climate crisis and its effects on African communities, build community support for climate action, and ultimately inspire individuals to take decisive action - panellists
Africa Needs to Be at the Table
The climate emergency is a global problem, but the way it is discussed often overlooks the experiences of people in Africa, said Hamza Egal, CEO of Agriculture Value-Chain Network Limited (AVN). Egal is a legal, humanitarian, and educational professional with over 15 years of experience advocating for human rights, climate justice, and innovative development projects across Africa.
Egal acknowledged that the crisis is a global problem and that the way it is often discussed ignores the experiences of people in Africa. He added that the narratives are often imperialistic and Eurocentric, which can lead to the voices of Africans being marginalised.
Egal stressed the importance of giving Africans a platform to share their experiences, and this can be done by creating opportunities for African journalists, business people, and educators to speak about the issue. He also said that it's important to listen to the voices of Africans and to learn from their experiences.
"If we can solve the climate crisis in Africa, we can solve it everywhere else," he said. "Africa needs to be at the forefront of the global conversation on climate change." He argues that African journalists need to tell stories that challenge the narrative that Africa is a helpless victim of the climate crisis and that the continent's people need to find ways to have their voices heard at the global table.
Africa has at least 65% of the world's agricultural land, yet people in Africa are dying of hunger.
The continent is already experiencing the effects of the climate crisis, such as rising temperatures, more extreme weather events, and changes in rainfall patterns. These effects are having a devastating impact on people and the environment. For example, the drought in the Horn of Africa has left millions of people facing starvation. Hundreds of thousands of people were displaced by devastating floods in Malawi, Mozambique and Madagascar.
The Horn of Africa is one of the most vulnerable regions in the world to the effects of the climate emergency, and has also been plagued by conflict for many years, resulting in a humanitarian crisis threatening millions of lives.
The World Food Programme (WFP) warned that at least 22 million in the Horn of Africa are at risk of starvation. The region includes Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Kenya. The famine in the region is greatly exacerbated by the climate crisis. According to the WHO, "life-threatening hunger caused by climate shocks, violent insecurity, and disease has left nearly 129,000 people in the Horn of Africa 'looking death in the eyes".
Belinda Otas, a Nigerian journalist and founder of the platform #SheBuildsAfrica, warned that the famine in the Horn of Africa is a warning sign of what is to come if we don't take action now, before it is too late.
Africa needs to be a part of the conversation on climate change. The continent's future depends on it.
Kenyan environmental journalist and trainer Kiundu Waweru believes that journalists have a responsibility to tell stories about climate change that put people at the centre. He says that people are more likely to understand and care about climate change if they can see how it is impacting real people's lives and believes that it is important to highlight the stories of people who are doing things to adapt to climate change and mitigate its effects. By telling these stories, journalists can help to raise awareness of climate change and inspire others to take action.
The Power of Language
The climate emergency is not a conspiracy theory, but a reality that we must educate people about and inspire them to take action. To do so, we need to consider the role of language.
With over 2,000 languages on the continent, each with its own unique cultural nuances, using foreign languages such as English or French may not be as effective in conveying the gravity of the situation to African communities. Local languages are more likely to resonate with people at a deeper level and help them connect with the issue on a personal level.
Waweru said: "Climate change is a global issue, but it is important to tell stories about climate change from a local perspective. Local stories can help people to understand how climate change is impacting their own communities. Anecdotes and personal stories can be more powerful than statistics and scientific data. By telling stories about climate change, we can help to raise awareness of the issue and inspire people to take action."
Nigerian climate reporter Vivian Chime said that language barriers can be a challenge for journalists who are trying to tell climate change stories in Africa. She shared her experience of trying to find the word or term for "climate change" in her language. However, she found the translation to be inaccurate as the climate emergency is a much more complex issue than just changes in weather patterns. Chime highlighted the importance of finding a way to explain it accurately and and accesibly in local languages to people in her community.
Navigating Challenges
As a journalist who specialises in reporting on climate change, global health, and development at The Cable in Nigeria, Chime said governments often do not engage with journalists who are trying to tell climate crisis stories. This can make it difficult for journalists to get access to information and to speak with government officials. She added that when governments are engaged with journalists, it can help ensure that they report on the issue accurately and effectively.
Chime mentioned that African communities often lack awareness and can be apathetic about climate, making it difficult for journalists to find people who are willing to talk about the issue and share their stories. She explained that sometimes people believe that the emergency is a hoax and that it is not happening, which can be challenging.
She added that there is a knowledge gap among reporters about the climate emergency. This is because it's a complex issue, and not all journalists have the time or resources to learn about it in depth. Chime said that she has often encountered journalists who are reluctant to report on the field because they believe it's too technical or that it's not their area of expertise. She said that this is a mistake, as the climate crisis is a major issue that is affecting people all over the world. "Sometimes you're talking to journalists, and they're like, oh, it's science is too technical. I don't want to dabble in it. I want to do politics and all of that."
"When people are aware of the issue, they are more likely to be willing to talk about it and take action to address it."
Solutions, Not Problems
Kate Okorie is a Nigerian freelance science journalist who provides commentary on Africa's health and environmental sectors. She uses solutions journalism to tell ethical stories about the continent.
Okorie addressed the importance of solutions journalism.
"There is no one-size-fits-all approach to communicating about climate change. You need to tailor your message to your audience." For example, if you are talking to someone who is not interested in the science or politics of the climate crisis, you might want to focus on the personal impacts, such as the loss of homes or livelihoods.
"I think that journalists should be more open to wanting to learn and understand climate change," she said. "It's not just about the science. It's also about the human impact. Climate change is displacing people, it's causing food insecurity, and it's making diseases more common. These are all stories that journalists should be covering."
Chime added that solutions journalism is important because it shows that there is a response to the problem. She said that people want to know what is being done to solve climate change, and that journalists have a responsibility to highlight the solutions. She also said that it is important to be critical of solutions and to report on both the successes and failures of climate change initiatives. She said that this is important for two reasons: "It helps people to understand what is working and what is not so that they can make informed decisions about how to take action, and it holds governments and other organisations accountable for their promises."
Africans Need to Speak Up on Climate Finance
The continent faces a precarious climate situation and is also grappling with a financial crisis linked to the effects of this global phenomenon. Developed nations had pledged to contribute $100 billion to assist developing countries in combating the climate crisis, but Africa is not receiving its fair share of this much-needed financial support, reports Climate Policy Initiative.
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Kenyan journalist Waweru said that the $100 billion that developed countries have promised to developing nations for climate change is just a "figure". He said that this amount of money is not enough to address the loss and damage that has been caused by the climate crisis in Africa. He also said that this money is not being distributed fairly.
He said that African journalists need to do more to hold developed countries accountable for their promises on climate finance and journalists need to ask tough questions about how this money is being spent and whether it is actually reaching the people who need it most. He also said that African journalists must tell more stories about the positive things that are being done to address the climate crisis, so that these stories can inspire others to take action and help to build a more sustainable future for Africa.
Egal agreed in principle but had some concerns.
He said that African journalists need to be creative in how they tell stories about the climate crisis. He said that journalists should not be afraid to use new technologies and storytelling techniques to reach a wider audience, and that African journalists need to be critical of the narratives that are being used to talk about the climate emergency. He said that there are many narratives that portray Africa as a victim of the climate crisis and that these narratives can be disempowering. Journalists should instead focus on stories that show how African communities are adapting to the climate crisis, and how they are taking action to address it.
Data Journalism - A Key to Understanding The Climate Crisis?
Okorie said that Africa is not powerless when it comes to addressing the climate emergency. She said that African countries can put pressure on their governments to take action, and they can also work with researchers to gather evidence of the impacts.
"I feel that one of the ways that we could amplify the work that we're doing is to work more closely with the researchers. Researchers have a lot of data on the impact of climate change and journalists can use this data to tell stories that are both informative and engaging."
Waweru added that data journalism is important because it can help people to visualise the scale of the climate crisis and believes that traditional journalism has focused too much on the negative aspects of climate change, which can lead to people feeling hopeless and disengaged from the issue. He calls on journalists to tell more stories about the positive things being done to address climate change, such as renewable energy projects, sustainable agriculture, and climate-resilient infrastructure.
