The African Feminist Academy for Climate Justice (AFACJ)
The 6th Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report released in 2021 is nothing less than a code red to humanity. The overwhelming scientific evidence available to date tells us one thing, that we need to act and act now if we are to reverse the wretched effects of climate crisis we are experiencing right now.
There is no shadow of doubt that human actions led to disastrous loss of biodiversity, endangering the planet interconnected ecosystems and demolish our ability to co-exist in harmony with nature resulting to endless crises including extreme weather events, food crisis, settlement crisis, abject poverty, and inequalities etc. These human actions are shaped and dictated by economic models which demands over exploitation of natural resources and people for private profit accumulation by a few. Climate crisis and all associated crises are directly linked to historical patterns of unsustainable production and consumption, excessive exploitation and extraction of land and marine coast, and destructive dependency on fossil fuel. Colonialism, capitalism, patriarchy, and all systems of oppression integrated to give birth to this grant crisis of 21st century – climate crisis.
The world bank research shows that, up to 132 million people will be pushed into extreme poverty by climate change by 2030, majority of them will be from sub-Saharan Africa, yet Climate change is not a household issue, nor is it a priority public policy issues in most African countries. And for those few countries and communities prioritizing climate change, they still frame climate change solely as a scientific problem requiring technical solutions, ignoring social, economic, political, and the historical aspect of it. Unfortunately, even though, African women and girls in all their diversities continue to carry the brunt of climate crisis, they have been pushed aside in all climate change policy processes and programs in the pretext of lacking technical capacity to understand the complexities of climate change.
To this end, FEMNET will initiate the African Feminist Academy for Climate Justice, which is designed to strengthen the capacity of African Women’s Rights Organizations (WROs), Girls and Young Women Organizations (GYWO) and feminist groups to be abreast with science, history, politics, and economics of climate change.
Click HERE to DOWNLOAD the African Feminist Academy for Climate Justice (AFACJ) Document.
Click HERE to REGISTER for the Academy.
