The effects of climate change on agriculture are expected to vary across the continent, but are likely to be most pronounced in areas where temperature and water availability are already major constraining factors.  Africa is highly dependent on rain-fed agricultural production. Many African crops including wheat, maize, and soybean are already grown close to the limits of their temperature or water stress tolerances.      

The majority Africa’s subsistence farmers are women; they are the ones that will really feel the brunt of changing rainfall and weather patterns. For many African women and girls, the situation will be exacerbated by poor access to education, health and employment.

The pressures on families to migrate to urban areas is also expected to grow further, making the challenge of tackling poverty and unemployment rates an even greater one.

Taking Action

Although climate change is already being felt across the continent, many countries are still not being spurred into action. We are urging the world’s governments represented at COP17 to listen to the people, and not the vested interests of polluting corporations; to shelve the rhetoric and create a framework for a sustainable future, by:

• Ensuring a peak in global greenhouse gas emissions by 2015
• Ensuring that the Kyoto Protocol continues and providing a mandate for a comprehensive legally binding instrument
• Delivering the necessary finance to tackle climate change
• Setting up a framework for protecting forests in developing countries
• Ensuring global cooperation on technology and energy finance
• Ensuring international transparency in assessing and monitoring country commitments and actions.

The Convention on Climate Change sets an overall framework for intergovernmental efforts to tackle the challenge posed by climate change. It recognises that the climate system is a shared resource that is affected by emissions from greenhouse gases resulting from human activity. Decisions under the UNFCCC are made on the basis of consensus according to current operating practice. This means that, rather than voting, Parties aim to reach agreement through discussion and negotiation. The main negotiating forum is sessions of the Conference of the Parties (COP), which typically take place at ministerial level. Parties also negotiate in the two subsidiary bodies of the UNFCCC, the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) and the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI). Other matters, such as the development of technical guidelines for implementing COP decisions, are dealt with at UNFCCC workshops. The administration of the UNFCCC is the responsibility of a secretariat based in Bonn, Germany. The UNFCCC secretariat is institutionally linked to the United Nations and is administered under UN Rules and Regulations. It is answerable to the COP and the subsidiary bodies, and has responsibility in three areas: executive direction, technical programs and support services for the intergovernmental process.

Our generation is unique.  Not just because of the internet, not just because of the pressing unemployment and civil unrest we have seen globally, and not just because of the threat to our future posed by climate change.

Expressing what is unique about our generation is really difficult.  It is something that has recently become a bit of an obsession of mine.  We grow up in different cultures, different economies and under different political situations.  So when I asked 9 young people from different countries to videoblog about their passion for climate activism, I got a multitude of ideas and creativity, but there was a common feeling.  There was an elastic band binding these people together, though they had never met.

courtesy of... http://drhutley.wordpress.com/

Durban - Some 1000 youth from all over the world have gathered in Durban, South Africa, for the two week long UN climate negotiations, where governments will hopefully decide on the process towards a binding global climate agreement. Young people are present here as part of the official youth constituency YOUNGO. 

After three days of training at the Conference of Youth taking place this weekend at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, the young delegates are now well equipped to participate in the UN climate tasks and lobby for the binding global agreement we all need so badly. 

Would you like to know more about their amazing work? Check the hashtag YOUNGO (#YOUNGO) on Twitter or follow @seanamos

This is the first time that I have participated in an event of this magnitude and specifically a Climate Change conference. Young people are quite passionate about Climate Change and since this event has come to Africa, it has raised the voice of the developing countries and in essence the African countries.

I have been attending the YOUNGOs meetings since yesterday (today 29th Nov 2011 is day 2) and the young people have raised so many issues and its time for them to be heard. I will take it a few steps back and explain what YOUNGOs is and what role it plays at the COP17/CMP7.

YOUNGO is the officially recognised constituency of the Youth Non-Governmental Organisations by the UNFCCC, of which the World Oganisation of the Scout Movement is a part. The spokes council is the decision making body of YOUNGO, and is formed by representatives of the Youth Non-Governmental Organisations participating in COP17.

YOUNGO makes statements and carries out actions on behalf of YOUNGO but at the same time it is representing all of its members. The spokes council provides for a transparent and formal method of decision-making that includes all of its members in a meaningful and constructive way.

This first meeting of YOUNGO saw the constituency having to elect five of its members who would then go on to have access seats inside for the Plenary session for the official opening of the conference.

For regular updates follow https://twitter.com/#!/seanamos

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