I recently started a new job as a “Sustainable Lifestyles Consultant” and I am surrounded by all kinds of statistics and reports on what we, especially young people, can do to live sustainably so that our generation can live on a somewhat clean earth, although the stage we are going, I am afraid we are simply going downhill at this point.
But what is more dangerous than ever, and I think this is a statistic that we fail to actually digest as young people from the developing world, particularly Africa, is that – while our carbon emissions may be small (I think the smallest in the world when looking at continent emissions) – Our continent is the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, hitting food and water supplies, causing coastal flooding and an increas in tropical diseases such as malaria, as well as destroying parts of the ecosystem. This is just a shortened version of what we are about to face, if not facing already. Click here to see how Africa relates to the rest of the world regarding Carbon Emissions — CARBON-ATLAS
Now, I am sure a lot of us know all this — yet, it is still so difficult for us to change our lifestyles to be more sustainable … it is amazing to see how climate change is part of every aspect of our lives, from where we live, how we live, what we eat, how we travel to and from work/school, the things we buy, having fun, connecting with others and just so much more. But we do not have this instinct to do something to protect our countries, our continent. There’s also the argument that what can we do when the world especially developed nations like the US are emitting and emitting nonstop; how can my actions in Dar or Nairobi make a difference?
Well, they can. Because it is not just you, but people around you will see how you do things and maybe learn from you.
I think it’s a small step we can all take for a better future for our continent and our children. If we don’t do it, only God knows what kind of earth our children will inherit.
True that. I think some recent projects initiated by youth, specifically oriented around the use of sustainable energy, should be given more public recognition. Here I mean public in the government services respect, as well as citizen participation.
Thanks for this article, Roonie. How is youth working with media in France?
There is definitely a greater discussion of sustainability in the public realm in developed countries, I would say. And here, I am particularly looking at the States, Canada and now France… Europe, I’d say is a bit more advanced in its environmental “fight” if I may call it that.
I wish this could translate to things back home,… the media is the best place to create this shift because young people relate to what the media says at an increasing and somewhat alarming rate… We have so many newspapers in Dar, for example, but how many of them cover the environment and sustainability? Or even our locally produced TV shows, how many of them cover these topics?
I think there needs to be some kind of wake up call for young people, from primary school students to university students and young professionals, to realize that this environment is theirs to protect. We cannot remove ourself from it and only care about the here and now… we have to realize we are part of it and this will take time and dedication but it can be done.
I think in some ways the shift is happening, and could perhaps involve young people in the long-term. For example, a public-private partnership like Carbon X Energy (company profile here) would have potentially positive returns to youth.
Khairoon, I’m so disappointed for the Africans (should I say the developing world?) to be told to reduce the Carbon Footprint while our people are suffering in so many ways. In reality, we sell the carbon credits then we are forced to plant trees in the areas that have rich soils, forcing the indigenous populations to flee the locations as the can no longer exploit the land for agriculture etc. Now tell me, why should someone in Germany or USA come to dictate the way I use my land in Tanzania while I can’t have a similar say where he/she comes from? Can our people eat the money that comes from selling carbon credits or do they need real food grown in Lushoto or Mbeya farms? How come I tend to think that it is a way of the developed countries to keep us poor and always dependent on them? Another thing, why do they choose specific areas for growing the trees after proper surveying? Doesn’t it ring a bell there could so much mineral wealth there that we are prevented from exploiting until their corporations are ready to come and take over the places? And if you didn’t know, those special areas where trees are grown to reduce the carbon footprint are highly guarded to the point that the natives are no longer allowed to get anything or even trespass the forests. Africa must wake up. Tanzania must wake up.
The challenge is, before you can justifiably tell Africa to drop it’s Carbon emission, which is largely insignificant in the world proportions of emissions, we need to work with the West and other fastly emerging economies to make sure that they drop down to Africa’s levels. What Africa needs to do is ensure that it does not raise it’s emissions, once that is done we can pretty much be the standard bearer.
The challenge is, Carbon emissions go hand in hand with industrialization, so in a way not raising emissions may mean not industrializing, or industrializing with very strict environmental sustainability standards, which can add to the cost of industrialization. Because Africa has paid a high price by not industrializing, a case can be built to assist efforts at sustainable industrialization in Africa.
Africans are the original environmentalists who, taking one example, started recycling even before recycling was fashionable in the West (Remember katambuga? What about all those Whiskey bottles used to cool drinking water? and those tins of cooking oil used to store maize? etc). Asking them to reduce their Carbon emissions while the Carbon Atlas given shows that they produce 1.02 bn tonnes of Carbon out of the world total of 28.19 bn, which is about 3.6% may prove to be unfair. At the same time the atlas shows Africa is catching up quickly, at pace with the world average growth in emission of 28%, this rate of increase must be addressed timely.
If you take South Africa and Egypt out of the equation ( 432.81 mil + 161.79 mil = 594.6 mil) you more than halve Africa’s emission to 425.4 mil tonnes. I am not suggesting one can do this, but I am showing that apart from being the continent with the least emission, most of Africa’s emissions are coming from a handful of countries.If you take the 5 most emitting countries in Africa, S.A ( 432.81 mil) Egypt (161.79 mil) Nigeria (105.19 mil) Algeria (88.10 mil) Libya (53.47 mil) they account for 841.36 mil tonnes, which is about 82.5% of the continent’s entire emission. If you concentrate on a 30% reduction just in these countries the entire continent drops it’s emission from 3.6% to 2.7% of the world’s total , a 25% decrease. Countries like Tanzania and Kenya have rather low rates of emissions at 3.97 mil and 9.88 mil. I don’t think Tanzania and South Africa should be in the same league despite geographical designation.
The newly created middle class, with it’s new purchasing power (more cars, more HDTVs, more cows -yes cows emit methane- etc) has a huge responsibility to instill sustainability from the get go. One of China’s biggest problem is people with a new purchasing power want to emulate the environmentally disastrous Western lifestyles. Embracing public transportation is one way to do this. But it is very hard to convince a person used to the comfort of a personal vehicle to board a Daladala. Public transportation must be reliable, sustainable with emphasis on using cleaner energy and generally an attractive option.So Africa should better concentrate on significantly reducing emission in the big five given above and address transportation by looking at cleaner options, especially in Sub-Sahara Africa outside of the big five.
And of course there is the tricky issue of the belching cows and what to do about it.
See http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31461978/ns/us_news-environment/
[Edited – Msangi, ulikuwa umechapia kidogo kwenye data za nchi za Afrika; nimerekebisha. Shukrani kwa uchambuzi! — SN]
Jamani my dear friends, did I say that AFRICA MUST REDUCE CARBON EMISSIONS? (correct me if I am wrong…I don’t think so, I just glimsed through the article and I dont recall saying we MUST reduce carbon emissions).. all I am saying is that we must learn to live MORE sustainably … and that covers all aspects of our lives, not particularly carbon emissions.
Trust me, I am fully aware that the West is the one causing the most damage here, and it is quite unfair that we will suffer the most, we being the African continent. There are many efforts taking place to help the South and North work together but so far, I do not see the great results these efforts have yielded.. so at this point, my call is for Africans or anyone living in Africa to try and be slightly more sustainable and let me tell you know.
I am very guilty of this when I am back home: Driving around when I could simply walk, littering, unnecessary packaging (when I go out to eat, I always end up having a lot of plastic bags for no reason), conserving water and electricity… I mean the list is endless. My point is that while we sit here and debate carbon trading and carbon reductions at a global level, Africa must think at the local level by integrating sustainability in our daily lives.
What could we do to make our buildings more energy efficient? What incentive can we give offices that strive and obtain this? What about our transport systems? How can we work with the government to push for more efficient and reliable public transit systems? What about a recycling program, can we do that? I mean there are so many “little” things we can do to impact our communities and make sustsainability part of our lives.
@Khairoon, if you are taking my pointing out that it is unfair to suggest Africa should reduce it’s carbon emission to have came from your article, this did not happen. In discussing sustainability there are three directions, increase emissions, remain at current rates and decrease emissions. I was merely exploring the different options and trying to chart the most advantageous path for Africa. A case can actually be made for the big five in Africa, and certainly SA, to reduce their emissions. Likewise, a case can be made that less industrialized countries like Tanzania should be allowed to increase their carbon emissions reasonably as they industrialize.
@ SN, thanks for editing. I originally thought the Tanzania and Kenya figures were in billions of tons, they are in millions of tons ( see “Countries like Tanzania and Kenya have rather low rates of emissions at 3.97 mil and 9.88 mil.’) This makes my point of categorizing different countries within Africa differently, even stronger. SA’s emissions are 106.75 times those of Tanzania. I will not be surprised to find out that this trend of concentration is continued even within SA . I expect the mines, Gauteng / Grater Jo’burg /the Witwatersrand region to have a disproportionately large emission in SA. once you address the gold/ coal mines and heavy industry in SA alone a lot can be done. Once this is done throughout the big five, even more can be accomplished. Africa, once again, must not be addressed as a homogeneous entity, there are very real differences between countries in Africa. And this is not to say that Khairoon suggested Africa be addressed homogeneously.
Its true Khairoon, we have rethink how we live our lives, from eating, use of water, energy consumption to wastage.
In TZ we have never had a proper debate about this, especially on energy, food and water wastage. Use of charcoal has got out of hand, we are encouraged now to use more gas to our homes, trees are cut with no proper supervision, we are wasting our own resources without second thoughts, authorities are not even seriously raising any alarm to this, our households are throwing out food and other waste without proper procedures for recycling, we are waiting for the West to set up NGO’s or give us money to sort out our own mess. We know even simple things like plastic cups in the toilet flush would save water we waste, we tend to burn everything on sight, we are taking everything for granted and when disasters happen we become superstitious, forgetting its our own making.
Through education from low levels to the highest might change our way of lives, and we have to accept and be flexible to it. Some will argue that the developed world is more responsible, but at the same time, have we really done anything to save the planet from self destruction? Simple things like using rechargeable batteries for torches, lamps, radios, drills and toys? Even having a fence wire with green plants such as “michongoma or miboga mvule” instead of just brick walls.
Khairoon has been brave enough to air the views and stand by it, maybe we should read, listen and think about it, that alone will make us aware and maybe join the bandwagon, what have we got to lose apart from contributing in saving the planet for the future habitants?
There is term called “Green Business”, which has been defined as a sustainable business, an enterprise that has no negative impact on the global or local environment, community, society, or economy — a business that strives to meet the triple bottom line. Often, sustainable businesses have progressive environmental and human rights policies… With the right policies in awarding tenders, maybe this point should be taken into account, with simple questions to the bidders, such as how will they deal with wastage, especially in manufacturing industries of any sorts, I suppose our people would be more interested with 10% than waste management, right?
Now “Kilimo Kwanza” is taking momentum, maybe we should ask questions about fertilizers to be used/are being used, as, they are also one of the accelerations to global warming. Let’s not show cynicism, rather we can show understanding and think about the world we will leave to our children.
Let us not forget that the solutions for ‘sustainability’ are mostly oriented to the lifestyle, climate and environment of the developed world.
Apart from most solutions proposed being non prototypic (for example each and every building uses energy differently and operational changes which can improve one building’s efficiency most of the time does not work for another building), even the solutions considered as prototypes in developed countries will not work in developing countries (we can take plug in electric cars to be a solution which is not applicable in Tanzania for example, since we still do not have enough energy as it is, and most of the energy is not from sustainable sources)
Africa needs to come up with its own solution befitting its climate, people, environment and economy.
The best way to get there is by the involvement of research institutes at university level. Our universities need to get innovative and together with private companies and other institutes lead us to these solutions even if they end up being business models.
(There is on- going research in the developed world by energy suppliers (mostly gas supplying companies) in collaboration with research institutes for a business model required for the selling of hot water from solar water heaters though to begin with solar water heaters were used only as an on-site energy cut measure)
I will also like to insist that the media has a very big role to play in this. Sending the correct information to the correct people at the correct time should be a priority to our media out lets as is being done in thedeveloped countries. Old and new solutions should be repeatedly announced to the people for their adoption.