COP27 is the 27th United Nations Conference on Climate Change that took place in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, from November 6 through November 20, 2022. Approximately 35,000 participants, observers, and volunteers from 190 nations were present at the conference, together with more than 90 heads of state.
Given that it was the continent’s first climate summit since 2016, many of us in Africa refer to it as “The African COP.” Since the first UN climate agreement in 1992, the conference has been held yearly. Governments utilise it to reach a consensus on measures aimed at preventing increases in the world’s temperature and preparing for its effects.
It has been an enormous privilege for me to take part in the summit as a young physician and climate change activist. I attended as a representative of Nigeria because of my strong track record of preserving the environment through tree planting under the Panacea Foundation. I was also present because I have observed that the relationship between health and climate change is being treated very casually and with little emphasis during negotiations.
Unbearable heat waves and air pollution are seriously harming people’s health. The annual death toll from air pollution brought on by the use of fossil fuels exceeds 8 million. In my community, flooding has killed hundreds of people this year, more than a million people have been displaced, farmlands have been destroyed, with people losing their lives and means of subsistence. As the UN Secretary-General, Mr Antonio Guterres, rightly put it, “We are on a highway to climate hell, and our feet are still on the accelerator.”
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I participated in several meetings and roundtable discussions to speak for the most vulnerable victims of climate change. The sickle cell patient suffering from extreme weather, the asthmatic patients having recurrent attacks due to poor air quality, the mental health patients particularly those suffering from depression and anxiety due to the traumatic effects of droughts and floods, the patients suffering from dehydration-related diseases, the patients suffering from cardiac-related diseases, the patients suffering from respiratory disorders, and lots more are just a few examples. All of these impacts are worst in Africa, affecting the lower class severely. I have heard beautiful speeches from world leaders. I have seen devastating pictures and videos on climate change. Series of presentations have made me wonder why they have refused to act. Why have countries failed to deliver on their promises? How many more people need to die from the menace of climate change before we understand the urgency to act?
It is imperative that parties responsible for the air pollution and temperature rise, step up to the challenge and prevent the tragic loss of life and livelihood due to the threat of climate change. I’ve always supported pressuring nations to fulfill their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), but there needs to be a significant commitment from the commercial sector that benefits from fossil fuels.
Despite the seriousness of climate change, the meeting wasn’t entirely successful. The Conference of Parties has failed to provide a clear path for the complete phasing down of the use of coal and fossil fuels. However, the passage of the long-awaited “Loss and Damage Bill” which demands money—in fact, a lot of money—was one of the summit’s biggest successes. The historic “loss and damage” is aimed at providing financial assistance to poor nations stricken by climate disasters.
Dr Dahiru Muhammad Hashim is the Founder and Pioneer Chairman of the Panacea Foundation, can be reached via [email protected]