From governments to scientists and unions, momentum is growing behind a demand for a clean energy transition and climate justice.
My grandmother Wangechi was a star. Stout, strong, and weather-beaten from tilling the land for days on end, we revered, feared, and loved her in equal measure. She was born when Kenya was a colonial state and married during the struggle for freedom, her role in which is a story for another day.
My siblings and I, and even our friends, thought my grandmother was all-knowing and could read the weather. No matter how hot it was, she would always drink hot tea. The only exceptions were the rare occasions when she came back from the farm and said rehe gikobe nywe mai (“bring me a cup to drink water”). Then, we knew it was definitely about to rain heavily.
We thought she was a magician, but she wasn’t. She had grown up at a time when the seasons were predictable. Her parents, ancestors, and everyone who came before knew what the weather would be by looking at the clouds, feeling the wind, and watching how the birds and animals behaved. It was the good old days before human greed and capitalism destroyed the balance of life and nature.
In West Africa, there is a beautiful country called Nigeria, a land of giants who walk with swag and speak animatedly. In the Niger Delta, where Shell has been drilling oil since 1956, the way of life of farmers and fisherfolk has been destroyed by fossil fuels. A community of over two million people has had their land, air, and water contaminated. Writer and human rights activist Ken Saro-Wiwa was hanged in 1995 for fighting for the environmental protection of the region.
30 years later, Shell spills about 40 million litres of oil every year across the Niger Delta. The land has been poisoned by heavy metals such as chromium, lead, and mercury, and many young people have turned to crime to survive. Nigeria produces 1.5 million barrels of oil per day, contributing to Shell’s enormous profits, but that hasn’t helped the people of the Niger Delta, where life expectancy is 45 years. The country is poor, and 87 million Nigerians live below the poverty line — the world’s second-largest population of poor people after India.
These patterns are replicated across Africa, where oil and gas have destroyed our way of life, turned young people into militias, and brought more misery, tears, and death to our continent. In Angola, the second largest oil-producing country in sub-Saharan Africa, people live in abject poverty. 1.55 million barrels of oil per day has not turned the people into millionaires. Instead, Angola has one of the highest mortality rates associated with air pollution in the world.
The curse of fossil fuels can only be stopped if we cease the drilling, and transition to clean energy. All African governments should support the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, which calls for an end to new coal, oil, and gas projects and demands a justice-based energy transition. It is a bold proposal grounded in global justice and equity that is premised on the basic fact that fossil fuels are fuelling climate breakdown. Coal, oil and gas are responsible for nearly 90% of the carbon emissions driving the climate collapse this decade. The world’s wealthiest countries have brought our planet to her knees.
For any lasting solution, we must go to the root. The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative does this by proposing an international mechanism to drive three big shifts: an end to fossil fuel expansion globally; a fair phase out of existing extraction, with the richest nations who have driven the climate catastrophe phasing out first and fastest and providing technical and financial support to developing nations; and a financed just transition that facilitates energy access, economic diversification, renewable energy deployment, and alternative development pathways.
Momentum is growing. The push for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty is spearheaded by a bloc of 16 Global South nations — including two fossil fuel producers — from the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Southeast Asia. It is high time for African countries to join this growing coalition. The global network also includes 120 cities and subnational governments, over 3,500 organisations and institutions including the European Parliament, 3,000+ scientists and academics, 101 Nobel laureates, the World Health Organisation, thousands of religious institutions, 10 Amazonian Indigenous nations, thousands of youth activists, more than 800 Parliamentarians across the world, hundreds of trade unions representing over 30 million workers in more than 150 countries, and almost a million individuals.
This proposal for justice is more necessary than ever for our people. As a continent, our carbon emissions have been negligible, yet we suffer the cyclones, floods and droughts that have been driven by the greed of fossil fuel corporations while more than 600 million Africans struggle through energy poverty every day. The effects of climate breakdown on our continent have left farmers and pastoralists destitute. The experience of Angola, Nigeria, and many more countries are evidence that fossil fuels only benefit multinationals while destroying communities, culture, and food security. If we don’t join the fight to stop this fossil fuelled climate crisis, the next big conflicts in Africa will be over water and food.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is one of the most fertile countries in the world. The Congo River has the highest hydroelectric potential in Africa. And the Congo Basin, known as the “lungs of Africa”, is the largest carbon sink in the world, absorbing more carbon than the Amazon and providing a critical habitat for endangered species. But if the DRC continues oil drilling, the beauty and the carbon sink will be destroyed and more wars and famine will follow.
I’m elated to become a champion to stop the proliferation of fossil fuels, foster a fair phase out of existing fossil fuel extraction, and achieve a global just transition to renewable energy. I also look forward to seeing the roaring waters of the Congo River light up Africa with clean energy. It’s possible. I encourage you to join the coalition to tackle the climate emergency head on by endorsing the #FossilFuelTreaty today.
Boniface Mwangi is an award-winning photographer and human rights activist. He is the author of Unbounded, a poignant and riveting memoir that captures his incredible journey.
