ActionAid Zim Marks 20th Anniversary with Calls for Climate Justice
By Elia Ntali
Local social justice advocacy group, ActionAid Zimbabwe celebrated its 20th anniversary with a solemn call for immediate action on climate justice.
Speaking during the anniversary event held in Harare recently, Joy Mabenge, the country director for ActionAid Zimbabwe and ActionAid International secretary-general Arthur Larok highlighted the pressing need to address the deteriorating climate situation and its unequal impact on marginalized groups.
Mabenge highlighted the urgency of transforming the current systems to effectively combat climate change.
“The world is in multiple crises, and we are not spared. Our systems change for climate justice work recognizes the deteriorating climate situation and its impact on human life and the environment, especially among marginalized groups.” Mabenge said
He called for a paradigm shift in financial strategies, urging banks to redirect their finances towards more sustainable and equitable alternatives.
“There is a need to have systems change the approach to the climate crisis through the banks redirecting their finances towards the feminist, green, just alternatives to agriculture through agroecology and fossil fuel through renewable energy,” he said.
In his speech during the celebrations, Larok said new challenges have emerged on the horizon.
“Sadly, countries and communities in Africa, Asia, and Latin America face the direct consequences of a crisis they contributed the least to create. Our governments in the global South have to channel substantial resources towards fighting the effects of the climate crisis, thus negating critical development goals in essential sectors such as education, health, and social protection,” said Larok
He highlighted the devastating effects of climate change, including droughts, cyclones, and flooding, which have become all too familiar in these regions, severely impacting livelihoods.
