Former Thisday Editor leads Africa-wide campaign on Climate Change

A former features editor at Thisday newspaper, Adeola Akinremi who led a strong campaign against smoking in public places across Africa in the early 2000s, which made it possible for several anti-smoking laws and policies on the continent, is urging Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu and other African leaders to pay attention to climate change.

In an interview, Akinremi, the chief executive officer of the nonprofit, Development Action & Campaign for Africa (DACA), said that he’s focusing fully on working with government leaders and businesses to prioritize action on climate change throughout the continent.

The measures needed, Akinremi said, would require moving beyond the rhetoric and attendance at COPs and other meetings to focusing on climate change efforts that can protect livelihoods and communities.

“Africa has the world’s lowest per capita greenhouse gas emissions, but the impact is felt very strongly on the continent,” he said. “Africa is one of the hardest hit continents and we don’t have the shock absorber. Africa’s poorest communities are often powerless in the face of extreme weather events. These extreme conditions are altering weather patterns across Sub-Saharan Africa, resulting in significant negative impacts on livelihoods, food security, nutrition, and national economies.”

Akinremi said Africa should invest in climate adaptation and mitigation with accelerated gear without waiting for future disasters.

“We have seen devastating consequences of flooding on our communities and the health of the people. Agriculture is affected and cholera and malaria cases have continued to surge, especially in places of poverty and conflict, with outbreaks reported in more than 26 countries and fatality rates rising sharply. This is what climate change means,” he said.

A joint U.N.-African Union report, The State of the Climate in Africa 2022, released in September 2023, claimed that disasters, such as the Horn of Africa’s worst drought in 40 years and Algerian wildfires, resulted in 5,000 deaths and over $8.5 billion in economic damage, citing an emergencies database.