This article is available at https://www.greenpeace.org/africa/en/publications/52224/decolonisation-a-crucial-prerequisite-to-environmental-justice-in-africa/
All across the African continent a colonial approach of extraction and exploitation continues to plague and paralyse economies. It pushes ecosystems to the edge and puts pan-Africanism on a back burner.
From Somalia to Nigeria, from South Africa to Algeria, households across Africa are facing a worsening climate crisis, with floods, extreme heat waves, wildfires, droughts and rising food prices. Yet our leaders are making a case for more oil and gas exploration at the upcoming climate conference in Egypt, an absurd choice that is bound to turn a bad situation even worse.
Fortunately, there’s an opportunity to outline a green and fossil-free development path for the continent when 54 African Environment Ministers meet in September in Senegal. Their ultimate test would be to look beyond the temptation to auction their natural resources for servicing a carbon intensity lifestyle in wealthier economies.