From the hitherto unsafe cocoons of industrialised
nations and their legendary dalliance with turbulence of every hue, climate
change has burst forth on African shores with a sneeze that is reminiscent of
asthmatic baboons in virgin forests. What was once considered the exclusive
preserve of those who engage cosmic forces through technological advancements
has predictably navigated its way to the African corridor. From Kampala to
Kinshasa, from Nouakchott to N’Djamena, from Lagos to Lusaka, climate change is
increasingly becoming real with alarming greenhouse gas levels, frenetic rise
in temperatures, astounding biodiversity losses, unmatchable sea level rise,
flooding, drought, deforestation and desertification.
With this barefaced reality comes an African media
that is seemingly bogged down by the fear of factual and narrative challenges
as well as distortions of balance bordering on inadequate comprehension of
climate change terminologies, unmistakable absence of editorial support, and
obsolete media tools and resources. There is no gainsaying the obvious that the
above largely contributes to the poor coverage of climate change issues in this
continent that is likely to be impacted acutely. In view of the fact that
climate change is and will continue to be one of the most important global
issues confronting mankind, the African media space cannot afford to relegate
it to the backburner as the attendant consequences of ignorance, general public
misunderstanding of both the science and the policy implications of climate
change will be too grievous for the populace especially the rural communities
who are most vulnerable.
For a safer African climate, there is a great need to
engage media constructively with a view to opening vistas of effective
collaboration between the government, civil society, faith-based organisations,
and cultural bodies. A mix of all these elements in the media will go along way
in promoting environmental sustainability in Africa. Governments at all levels
must recognise and partner with the media to drive home mitigation and
adaptation measures as well as set the agenda for climate justice for Africa at
international negotiation tables.
The declining status of media coverage of the African climate is an
invitation for more innovative ways by which the costs associated with climate
change coverage can be shared and defrayed. It needs to attract true partners
within the media sector and beyond in addressing climate change issues and it
must develop practical solutions to overcoming the systemic public apathy
toward climate science and climate science journalism in Africa.
Perhaps, it is in recognition of the aforesaid issues
of urgent continental importance that the Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance
(PACJA), a leading continental coalition of 500 civil society organisations in
43 African countries, took the initiative of calling Journalists from across
the continent to a workshop in Nairobi on the way forward for African climate
reportage. Suffice it to add that this workshop eventually gave birth to the
Pan-African Media Alliance for Climate Change (PAMACC) which aspires to tell
the African climate story in a refreshingly lucid, communally engaging and
technically robust manner as never seen before on the continent. The PAMACC
idea, if effectively mobilised on the time-tested ideals of African
brotherhood, which runs on the wheels of regional and cultural linkages, may
usher Africa into the future, an era of environmental consciousness and
concerted actions.
As PACJA continues to strengthen its strategic
engagement with the African media through PAMACC, it is hoped that the capacity
of African Journalists to effectively cover a full range of climate change
issues such as the African climate justice agenda, mitigation and adaptation,
technology transfer, climate finance and negotiations would be greatly
enhanced. These have become absolute necessities, as Africa is the least
contributor to greenhouse gas emissions that are increasingly making our
climate unsafe. As PAMACC’s energy-efficient engine roars to life across the
continent through its strong networking credentials, may the green information
it emits and the development it engenders blow from Cape Town to Cairo and from
Blantyre to Bujumbura, sweeping away, deforestation and old farming methods
that contribute to climate change and bringing better and renewable farming
methods to feed a greener Africa!
May PAMACC rise above the failures of past attempts at
continental affirmation and showcase African success stories in climate change
adaptation and mitigation with a view to replicating these initiatives in all African
villages and communities. Whilst holding governments and multinational
corporations to international best practices in oil and gas exploration with
zero-tolerance for oil spillage and gas flaring in African communities, it is
hoped that PAMACC will trumpet demands for technology transfer from developed
countries to Africa as well as local capacity building and the creation of a
$200 billion fund to assist African countries in mitigating against the impacts
of climate change. The new media alliance must lead advocacy efforts at
ensuring that developed countries cut emissions to at least 40% below the 1990
levels.
As the new media alliance berths, it is believed that
Africa is on the threshold of significant and constructive change for the
betterment of all her inhabitants, including animals, trees and plants. If we
take this opportunity to work together, we would in unison bear true witness to
the great and miraculous change that will take place in our continent. At this
point, it takes all the media efforts, CSOs, governments and the private sector
to get involved. The time has come for us to change, evolve, grow and stand
tall for our environment. Together, let us make the unprecedented leap to the
green era of sustainability that awaits us.
Atayi Babs Opaluwah writes for
ClimateReporters
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