29 years of discussions and money being channeled on fancy conferences, yet our climate is still declining. Could it be that the world leaders are not handling this with the right angle? Or the conferences are just formalities to make pretend that we are doing something towards a sustainable future? Level with me here, how is it that within days the COP 29 meeting began, already there were protesters demanding answers at a conference where leaders were gathered to discuss a way forward?
Let’s trail back a bit before we dive into more detail. Let’s talk about Zimbabwe sending in 238 delegates to represent our country whilst other countries (some which are developed) sent in fewer numbers. This is not just about statistics comparison but rather looking at the state of our country. Reflecting on the El Niño induced drought affecting us, the rivers and dams gone dry, then taking into account the funds which were used to fund delegates sent in to represent us. My thoughts being that after an approximation of a million United States Dollars spent, did those delegates manage to lessen our vulnerability as a country to the climate induced disasters and raise our adaptive capacity? Or we will go to COP 30 next year to discuss more things that will take years to implement (that’s if they ever get implemented).
Let’s talk about COP 29, the “Cop of peace”. Are we expected to make peace with the children being faced by climate shocks? Children being faced by conflict and war. Do we go ahead and make peace with human rights violations we face because we tried exercising freedom of speech whilst demanding accountability from our leaders? We have world leaders fueling genocides so we are far from peace. We cannot move to a sustainable future when most of the very same countries participating in COP have economies built on fossil fuels and will not stop expanding their fossil fuel productions because of greed. Prioritizing profit over impacts it has on people.
African countries are not as innocent either. They are the biggest hypocrites, they may not be guilty of emitting more than 90% of greenhouse gasses but they are guilty of oppressing their own people, guilty of their people being colonized despite their countries having attained freedom. There is no climate Justice without social Justice so that means addressing all these human rights issues and all social issues. We need to get to a point were we are able to co-exist in a safe and transparent environment with our leaders. Even if that sounds like a dream, we at least deserve to have people all across the world to be made aware of the COP proceedings and agreements made. We need even children in primary schools to be made aware of what climate change is and what best they can do to help teach the next person on ways to adapt. We start preparing for COP 30 now, and it starts by getting our house in order.
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Written by: Phathisankosi P. Moyo
Also known as Starlight, a spoken word poet who uses her platform to raise awareness about climate change and social Justice and inspires action through poetry. She is also an emerging eco-friendly fashion designer who is passionate about promoting sustainable practices in the fashion industry, advocating for the recycling, up-cycling and reuse of fabric. She aims to inspire a new generation of leaders to prioritize environmental stewardship, social justice and creative expression.
