Malena Jeantet : Europe should finance adaptation to climate change
Malena Jeantet : Europe should finance adaptation to climate change
As over 200 participants from 15 African and European Countries close the Yaoundé Regional Forum this Saturday December 3, on the Our Future Africa-Europe Dialogues, experts are discussing ways on making the Africa-Europe relations guarantee a more sustainable world .
Continuing in the spirit of COP27 that just ended in Egypt, Malena Jeantet, a young French Volunteer working on electronic waste recycling in Cameroon for a non profit organization known as Solidarité Technologique, thinks Europe needs to feel the financial burden of climate change mitigation more than Africa. According to her, “Europe and developed countries are the ones most responsible for environmental degradation but when you look at the impact, Africa is suffering the most due to pollution from extraction of primary resources by Europe and developed countries. When it comes to financing climate action, Europe should finance adaptation to climate change not Africa.”
This young French citizen is working in Cameroon for the past three years on electronic waste. To her, recycling feels like a responsibility to try to mitigate the impact of what the West is leaving in Africa as far as climate change is concerned. “That is why I feel like it is a duty to be here because I come from Europe which has been mainly responsible for the climate problem in Africa, even if Africa is developing now”, she said.
Solidarité Technologique is advocating for policies that allow for all second handed electronic goods being shipped to Africa from Europe to be tested and seen to be in good working shape so as to reduce the amount of electronic waste being generated in Africa from damaged electronic goods shipped from Europe. “We think that instead of advocating for an end to the shipping of second handed goods from Europe to Africa, countries in Africa should impose a tax on each second handed good imported. A testing and certification policy should also be implemented to ensure that all second handed goods sent to Africa are in good working condition and can still serve for some time”, she said.
While Solidarité Technologique is managing electronic waste recycling in Cameroon, they are also trying to give more lifespan to electronic devices by carrying out repairs and only discarding of a device when it is bad beyond repairs so as to limit the exploitation of primary resources.
Sah Terence ANIMBOM with Médias & Démocratie (M&D)
All or most Africans have been saying this… why should it always be the opinion of a European most heard or broadcast…well it adds to the voices..but even my kids in the primary all know this….
Hi Mr Colins, I feel your frustration. I can bet you that Africans have been well published on this same thought. you might just not have come across the thoughts. This particular subject dominated discussions at the Cop27 in Egypt, championed by Africans. Plus it even makes a lot of sense too to hear it from a European working in Africa and who feels the pain like Africans. In fact this really makes our cry even more legitimate.