A firm, Education Cannot Wait (ECW), has appointed Africa most prominent climate activist from Nigeria, Adenike Oladosu, to head the new ‘ECW Climate Champion’, known as ‘@The EcoFeminist’.
In an interview with journalists, Oladosu urged world leaders to expedite action and adds cases of climate change with education across the continent.
She further suggested world leaders to act #RightHereRightNow and connect climate action with education action, on World Environment Day.
She added climate change also pose threats to nations and put generations at risk.
To her, “across Africa, climate change is ripping lives apart: forcing children from school, pushing families from their homes, triggering spikes in hunger, poverty and violence, while derailing efforts to deliver on promises outlined in the Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals.”
She added, “the interconnected challenges of armed conflicts, forced displacement, environmental degradation and climate change are putting an entire generation at risk.
To address the growing education/climate crises, she insisted, “we must act #RightHereRightNow to ensure access to quality education for millions of crisis-impacted girls and boys worldwide. As we lead up to this year’s Summit of the Future and Climate Talks, I urge world leaders to take strong action to insert education in the global climate agenda.”
Speaking on the appointment, Executive Director, ECW, Yasmine Sherif, described Oladosu as a tireless advocate for climate action in Africa, adding that the impact of climate change could not be overemphasized.
She said that by 2050, climate impacts could cost the world’s economy US$7.9 trillion.
According to Sherif, “Adenike Oladosu as our new ‘ECW Climate Champion,’ will spearhead a global movement to connect climate action with education action as we work together to address the life-threatening challenges of rising seas, spiking temperatures, ever-more-severe droughts, floods and natural hazards that are derailing development gains and denying children their human right to a quality education.”
She further revealed that ECW had issued a global appeal for $150m to support ECW and its global strategic partners to reach 2 million children impacted by the converging threats of climate change.
In addition, she stated, “climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as cyclones, floods, droughts, heat waves and wildfires as well as the probability of co-occurring events. These extreme weather events are increasingly disrupting schooling and precipitating learning losses, dropouts, and long-term impacts.
“Over 99% of children around the world are exposed to at least one major climate and environmental hazard. These are eroding education outcomes and recent progress in improving school access and learning.”
ECW is the global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises within the United Nations that offers quality support to refugees, internally displaced persons and other crisis-affected girls and boys, so no one is left behind.
