Madam,

The laxity from different countries and people around the world in dealing with the climate crisis is slowly catching up with us. The unfortunate part is that we still have people who insist on implementing and facilitating projects that will have a bearing on the climate and will further lead us down a slippery slope.

As the World Health Organization report notes: Between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause approximately 250 000 additional deaths per year, from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhoea and heat stress. The direct damage costs to health (i.e. excluding costs in health-determining sectors such as agriculture and water and sanitation) are estimated to be between US$2-4 billion/year by 2030. Areas with weak health infrastructure – mostly in developing countries – will be the least able to cope without assistance to prepare and respond. Reducing emissions of greenhouse gases through better transport, food and energy-use choices can result in improved health, particularly through reduced air pollution.

While no one is safe from these risks, the people whose health is being harmed first and worst by the climate crisis are the people who contribute least to its causes and who are least able to protect themselves and their families against it: People in low-income and disadvantaged countries and communities. The climate crisis threatens to undo the past 50 years of progress in development, global health and poverty reduction, and to further widen existing health inequalities between and within populations.

While the reasons for pushing for the retention of fossil fuels might seem valid to some, it remains critical to look at the bigger picture. Fossil fuels are a quick solution, which will bring long-term turmoil and unfortunately, Africa will be the most affected.

We cannot afford to drop the ball now and push for projects that will benefit the current generation but bring misery for the next. By allowing leaders to derail us from combating climate change, we are setting a bad precedent for our children and their children and might just be premeditating the deaths of the generations to come.

Some might think the last bit might be an exaggeration, but I have never been more serious. Leaders around the world continue to be at fault and the sole downplayers of the climate crisis.

For instance, former American President Barack Obama blamed the then-Trump administration for its hostility towards climate science. Obama publicly expressed worry that politics all over the world is falling short of what needs to be done to save the planet and took a swipe at his successor, Donald Trump, who has been widely seen as a ‘climate change denialist’ for delaying that country’s fight against the global crisis. There is no excuse for leaders to bolster quick fixes, which will be at the detriment of each country in the long run: What the people are owed in terms of the climate crisis are accountability and action which will push us towards a net zero emission target by 2050 at the very least.

The laxity from different countries and people around the world in dealing with the climate crisis is slowly catching up with us.