CLIMATE
CHANGE AND DEMOCRACY
BY ADENIKE OLADOSU
One
of the existential rises of the twenty-first (21st) century is
climate change. The interplay between climate change and democracy can’t be
over emphasized. Democracy in its fullness guarantees human rights and good
governance with the requisite frameworks and guidelines. The concepts
of democracy have metamorphosed from the
time when the famous American President Abraham Lincoln defined the “government
of the people by the people and for the people '' to a system that fights
against oppression. Previously democratic righteous entitled to only feed
powerful white men and monarchs. Currently, democratic concepts mean fighting
for women’s rights and protection of the environment (including climate change).
Many questions like can we fight climate change without democracy or will
climate change end democracy? These and many answers will be given broadly in
this article.
CLIMATE
CHANGE WITHOUT DEMOCRACY
Just
like Covid-19, climate change is one of the crises facing humanity today.
Hence, requires a detailed and organized system that can fight its
consequences. A true democratic system gives freedom of thoughts and ideas
which are needed to fight climate change. Democracy has a positive effect on
environmental quality. It is a known fact that democracy sustains and
encourages freedom of speech, freedom of press, political participation and
social awareness. These factors provide conduit for social demands and progress
succinctly. Democratic governments have incentives to protect the environment
as environmental degradation and climate breakdown are issues affecting many
Democracies all over the world that allow for public interest litigation- an
increasingly used tool for climate action. Moreover, democracy will do its best
at controlling climate change as in countries. Where it is fully practiced,
global warming and climate change is declining. More so, democracy is better
structured to handle most crises emanating from climate change. To lead the
climate action movement we fight for the restoration of Lake Chad through a
democratic framework and action. I am one of the greatest champions of green
democracy in Africa with the view of fighting climate change crises through
democratic and ecofeminism lens.
WILL
CLIMATE CHANGE AND DEMOCRACY?
Climate
change is in advance due to lack of political goodwill to check its
progression. It already has an impact on democratic governance through its
effect on food security, conflict, water scarcity, migration and other natural
disasters. Invariably, climate change can exacerbate the factor of governance
and most importantly infrastructure development. How can democracy survive
in a society filled with famine, drought and food insecurity contributed to the
Arab-uprisings and war disturbing the growth of democracy in the middle belt
(Arabian Peninsula). Africa is the only place where climate change is leading
to conflict and conflict is leading to climate change simultaneously. Conflict
arising from climate change in the Lake Chad basin has led to the failure of
democratic tenets like free and fair election occurring the region.
In
Africa, climate change is one of the causes of the rising unemployed rent and
poverty as a resort of crop failures. Unfortunately, in some parts of west and
central Africa, farmers-herdsmen conflicts arise as a result of competition for
national resources such as land, all occasioned by climate change leading to
the deaths of thousands of people.
CONCLUSION
It
is all accepted that democracy is the best form of civil government in the
world and practiced by more than two third of the world’s population, hence the
need to use it to fight against climate change. Established lead climate
initiative to see to climate change crises by fighting it through a requisite
and dependable democratic framework.
ADENIKE
OLADOSO IS AN EFOFEMINISTIC AND CLIMATE JUSTICE ACTIVIST
EMAIL:
oladosuadenike32@gmail.com
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