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Building a future that supports positive climate change efforts

As leaders gather for COP26, young Tanzanian campaigner Abdallah explains why it is so important to tackle climate change for our future.

I am passionate about climate change because I would love to see future generations living in a world filled with green grass, tall trees, less carbon dioxide and clean oceans. I would love to see future generation using more of oxygen from the atmosphere and less of oxygen from tanks, a future where one can go swimming in the ocean without running into plastic bags or bottles or garbage of any kind. I would love to see a future where clean sustainable energy is used so as to reduce CO2 in the atmosphere. A future where climate change will be the least of the world’s problems.

Climate change has been an ongoing problem which is a result of our human activities. As time passes by, more generations will have even less chance of enjoying the luxuries offered by our precious environment. But what’s even sadder is the fact that only 30% of the human population are actually trying to make a change.

I am an #ActionNotExcuses campaigner

I have not settled for inaction. After receiving campaign design training with Raleigh I took part in designing the Kesho Tutachelewa campaign, our environmental campaign here in Tanzania. I work on creative, communications and branding, working to show the world our campaign and working to mobilise more than 1 million young in our work. I have been on the ground to plant trees across Tanzania, teaching communities about clean energy sources such as gas and briquettes, while also designing sessions to engage others in climate change.

To world leaders at COP26

World leaders at COP26 have a great role in tackling climate change because of their influence, They should directly be involved in implementing policies to tackle climate change. We need them to act to help end deforestation and initiate programs that could restore degraded forests. They need to support electric vehicles deployment and demonstrate the necessary political will put the world on a safer climate trajectory.

Most of all, world leaders must support the environmental initiatives of young people. This is because young people are energetic, active, innovative and have great influence. As we all know, the future of this planet and the next generation lies on the shoulder of today’s youth. Young people can help to tackle climate change in their own purposeful ways, like participating in tree planting and go-green activities, garbage picking and recycling initiatives.

Young people like us are raising our voices about the climate change as the world’s emergency unfolds, getting involved in environmental protests and campaigns, and using social media to influence behaviour change toward climate issues.

To save the planet, we must start with the small things

We should adopt new ways of living. In Tanzania this can mean using gas or briquettes while cooking, reusing materials like water bottles, influencing others to make changes. We should be reducing plastics, walking or using bicycles in short distances instead of using motors, and taking this climate emergency seriously. We need to make changes, because if we don’t then the crisis will grow and the world will see more floods, earthquakes and pandemics. We must do something, as there is no planet B – our planet is all we have.

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