In recent years, interest in climate issues has escalated and turned into a major part of the global policy agenda, and in this context, what is called “climatic imperialism” or the attempt of the influential northern powers to impose their hegemony through the use of issues related Climate change And combat it.
And it is African continent One of the most prominent squares in which the files of facing the repercussions of global warming have turned into a “Trojan horse”; Through it, colonial domination is rebuilt in a green dress this time, which ultimately leads to an increase in the damage to the countries and societies of the continent that suffer from the devastating consequences of emissions that lead the industrial forces.
While figures indicate that Africa’s contribution to global cumulative emissions does not exceed 4%, while developed countries’ contribution exceeded 80% in the period. This reality, which the brown continent did not participate in its manufacture, does not make it the most exposed to the horrific effects of climate change only, but also puts it in the dilemma of the need for the rich northern countries, providing these countries the opportunity to draw global environmental policies according to what serves their interests.
Green transformation victims
The past decade has witnessed a great escalation in global interest in transforming green energy technologies and its vital minerals such as Cobalt Copper, lithium and manganese, which was reflected in Africa, which stores huge amounts of these wealth, including 85% of the global manganese reserves and 80% of platinum and chrome, while the Democratic Congo reserves are estimated at 70% of the global cobalt.
Despite this tremendous abundance in the vital metal resources for future industries, the mechanisms that are dealt with with these treasures remove the cover from a deep contradiction through which climate change solutions to the advanced countries are built to exploit resources and employment in the global south, which represents a direct continuation of historical colonial patterns.
This exploitative pattern is manifested in various forms, including the consolidation of the state of the continent as a source of raw materials by pumping investments in the mining sectors without developing industrial brown capable of unleashing the maximum benefit from these assets, as the World Bank estimates indicate that sub -Saharan Africa countries receive only 40% of potential revenues from their natural resources.
A prolonged article in the “Project Sindecity” magazine reveals another face of the tremendous economic opportunities as a result of the continued export of inherent goods, while the bauxite (aluminum ore) is sold at about $ 92 per ton, the aluminum is sold by 2438 per ton, according to the prices of 2023.
The negative effects of converting Africa extend to a source of raw materials to include the human element, as the reports of prestigious human rights institutions are highlighted As Amnesty International Various violations accompanying the cobalt mining operations in the Democratic Congo, including the wide -ranging use of child labor who are not more than 12 years old in dangerous underground conditions, and in hard working attacks of up to 24 hours.
On the other hand, the accelerating shift towards clean energy and the pursuit of the major powers to control the supply chains of biological materials involved in its technologies launched a state of “new demand” on the African continent, transforming it into a circuit of a global geopolitical conflict that increases the political and security complications and instability of the continuity that is already suffering from the continent.
Who benefits from carbon markets?
The carbon markets represent one of the supposed mechanisms to meet the consequences of acute climate changes, and this concept was born within the folds of the Kyoto Protocol in 2005, and it was strengthened by Article 6 of the Paris 2015 agreement that allows countries with high emissions to enter into bilateral agreements with their low emissions counterparts to purchase emissions balances resulting from renewable energy projects or afforestation.
In practice, carbon is traded inside this market through a barter that begins with the status of governments or organizational bodies concerned with a maximum amount of carbon dioxide (a type of pollution) allowed to empty them, and this enables the bodies from which they are issued less than the allowable limit to obtain “carbon credit” and sell them to the other parties that guarantee them the purchase of this “currency” to stay under legal ceilings.
According to Bloomberg, the carbon compensation market in 2023 reached two billion dollars with expectations of $ 1.1 trillion by 2050. Despite the benefits that this trade preaches such as paying investments in green technologies and environmental conservation projects, creating economic incentives to reduce emissions, this is not all the image.
A lengthy report issued by “Global Progress” explains that carbon compensation projects resulted in a complex network of grievances and imbalances of power and conflicts over land rights, and these projects involved to include vast areas of land, devastating the life of local societies and environmental systems.
For example, the Kenyan government expelled the Agic community from the Mao forest, claiming that this was done in the name of climate work and the protection of forests, forcing the affected societies to resort to the judiciary.
A report issued by “Auckland Instotiot” deals with the platform of the influence of African forests (AFIP) supported by European development financing institutions, Japanese oil companies, and an Australian investment company, which promotes “nature -based solutions”, but a disturbing pattern of exploitation and environmental misinformation emerges in its investments, as it was the first seizure of the company “Green Resource” known for its history In the seizure of lands, human rights violations and environmental destruction in Uganda Wormalism Withanasia.
Hegemony over global climatic agendas
Despite the contribution of the global northern countries to the largest historically installment of environmental pollution, they also control the fee of the maps of combating this devastating phenomenon, in a remarkable paradox that enables them to impose their priorities on the less contributing parties to harmful emissions and most affected at the same time as the African continent.
In this context, the focus is on ways to reduce the harmful emissions that fall within the circle of the interests of industrialized countries, while the discussions related to the mechanisms of adaptation that Africa needs in the face of the devastating effects of climate change such as droughts, floods and repercussions on Food security.
For example, at the Climate Conference “COP26”, which was held in the Scottish capital Glasgow in 2021, 70% of climate financing was directed to reduce emissions, while what was devoted to adaptation was 30% despite its urgent necessity for the brown continent.
This dominance on the global environment agenda is also revealed in the “African Climate Summit 2023” held in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, where the focus on the expansion of carbon markets was overwhelmed through pledges of hundreds of millions of dollars, regardless of the effects of this strategy in destroying the life of local societies and unique environmental systems with their failure to curb emissions, as confirmed by many specialists.
Another aspect of this hegemony is embodied by the continuous obstruction of the recognition of historical responsibility for pollution and its consequences, and a research paper issued by the Los & Deca Columbrogen shows the concerted efforts for 3 decades by the developed countries signed on an agreement United Nations Framework for climate change to obstruct the approval of a fund to support countries affected by climate change and address “losses and damage” on them as a result of extremist climatic phenomena.
They make our perceptions of the problem and the solution
Several studies indicate what you call “cognitive domination” as a tool of “green colonialism”, which is intended to control a set of perceptions and concepts issued by the Western system on the field of knowledge related to the environment, neglecting and marginalizing the forms of knowledge and experience that local communities enjoy in Africa, in order to enhance the dominance of the North countries over environmental policies.
In this context, an article published by the colleague at the London College of Economics, Ayoub Gabrimiaram, explains that climate -related studies focus on Africa receive limited research funding, as only 3.8% of the global climate -related research is allocated to the subjects that focus on Africa despite its inconsistent exposure to the grave effects of climate change.
On the other hand, research centers in Europe and North America are dominating the climate -related research focused on Africa.
The report of the International Government Authority concerned with climate change in 2022 highlighted that 78% of the financing is devoted to the Northern Research Institutions, which is reflected directly in the decline in the participation of African researchers as authors of “related” climate “related” research, where the aforementioned report confirms the absence of a “local author” when analyzing more than 15 thousand publications that address climate issues covering 75% of African countries.
Gabrimiaram concludes that this “exclusion” of knowledge production does not distort the reputation and marginalization of the non -European European knowledge frameworks, but it also reduces the ability to translate scientific studies into practical and realistic visions on priority issues for Africa, as the northern research centers are likely to give priority to the interests of their departments and customers in a way that creates “misleading priorities” that significantly reduce the ability of Africans to the ability of Africans Adaptation to the highly increasing effect of climate change.
On the way to climate justice
How to respond to multi -faceted green colonialism turned into a major part of the African political and environmental discussions, and its forms were multiple, whether at the continental, international or at the level of civil society organizations and youth.
He has stated African Union That the countries of the continent do not bear a great responsibility for a phenomenon Climate change As a result of the weak amount of emissions from it historically, it also calls on African leaders to provide adequate technical and financial support from the international community to meet the catastrophic repercussions of this phenomenon.
In this context, African countries are actively working on developing and implementing national adaptation strategies, and these plans include an integrated approach to managing coastal areas, water resources and agriculture, especially in the areas affected strongly from drought and desertification.
While civil society organizations and youth movements on the continent call for “climate justice”, including the dismantling of the economic structures based on converting Africa into a source of raw materials that led to depriving them of fully benefiting from the added values of their mineral wealth, while demanding the formation of new structures in which local communities, workers and marginalized groups constitute a major part of decision makers instead of the uniqueness of foreign governments and companies.
Besides the above, the criticism of the development models imposed from abroad that place the interests of foreign companies over the lives and destinies of local communities such as huge projects to build solar power stations and wind energy that are described as the future of clean energy on the continent and regardless of the damages resulting from the dispute of the indigenous population, the destruction of local environmental systems, and the lack of guarantee of equal opportunities to obtain energy for those who are in need of them.
Initiatives for alternative development models such as sustainable agricultural networks and societal projects for renewable energy are presented, with the ongoing call to the industrialized countries to bear their historical responsibility for environmental pollution and pay fair compensation to the affected countries by adopting the principle International financing institutions.