Before getting on a plane to the COP27 climate summit, Siyabonga Mokoena had been recording the stories of people impacted by the open-cast coal mines and power plants in Emalahleni, northeastern South Africa.
He is one of half a dozen young African reporters attending the global conference to produce a climate change podcast series that would be broadcast on 15 radio stations around the continent.
“We want to bring our own stories to COP and then circulate what we learn from COP back to our own communities,” the 21-year-old radio host working with the Children’s Radio Foundation (CRF) charity said in a video conference call.
There are about 2,000 local radio stations in sub-Saharan Africa, providing a vital source of information for millions of listeners in rural areas and informal settlements with little to no internet access, according to South Africa’s Wits Centre for Journalism.
With COP27 taking place in Egypt, climate groups are pushing for a greater focus on financial support for African countries already suffering the impacts of climate change, and the CRF reporters said they want to document this push.
“We have a lot of conferences, but what are the results?” asked Rebecca Mbaama, a Zambian youth reporter with CRF.
“At the end of the day, we are the ones suffering, [but] through radio we can listen and understand how to find solutions,” she said.
Internet penetration in sub-Saharan Africa has jumped from less than 1 percent in 2000 to 30 percent today — the world’s highest internet growth rate.
However, there are still more than 840 million Africans not connected, according to the Internet Society, a US-based digital rights nonprofit organization.
Data costs in sub-Saharan Africa are some of the highest in the world, so even for people with internet-accessible devices getting online is still seen as a luxury, and less than half of the region has access to electricity, World Bank data showed.
“In the Democratic Republic of the Congo [DRC] we have electricity problems every day,” said Joyce Tshivuadi, a 19-year-old reporter from Kinshasa.
The young reporters said radio played on public transport, such as South African minibus taxis that can carry about 15 passengers at a time, is a common way for large groups to gather news.
“Radio is how we stay connected, how we keep learning about the world,” said Tshivuadi, who would also attend COP27.
Since 2006, CRF has trained over 5,000 youth reporters in 10 African countries and reached an estimated 9 million listeners through shows covering topics ranging from public health, education and employment.
The organization is sending young reporters from Zambia, the DRC and South Africa with recorders to attend COP27 sessions and interview advocates and experts, to create a three-episode podcast in English and French.
“Young people not only deserve a seat at the table, they have also earned the right to be heard,” CRF producer Dhashen Moodley said.
“Our youth reporters are telling us they want to be involved in the decisions, to hold leaders accountable and to report back to their audiences at home,” said Moodley, who is accompanying the reporters to Egypt.
Mokoena said he was excited that “just transition” — the protection of workers’ rights and livelihoods as economies shift to sustainable production — is on the COP agenda, because the issue directly impacts his family.
“My dad has been a coal miner for the past 21 years — as long as I have been alive. And now I am interviewing him about the sustainability of his work as the breadwinner of our family,” Mokoena said.
South Africa has been labeled a test case for other coal-dependent emerging economies in the global fight against climate change.
At the COP26 climate summit last year, wealthy nations committed US$8.5 billion to help Africa’s most industrialized nation cut its emissions and accelerate its shift away from coal, which it relies on for the bulk of its electricity.
Mokoena had interviewed miners whose jobs might be on the line as the country moves towards cleaner energy.
“My dad is really worried,” he said.
However, his mother and many community members are suffering the health impacts of living so close to coal plants, including asthma, eczema and sinus problems, he added.
A South African high court declared in March that poor air quality caused by coal-fired power stations is responsible for more than 10,000 premature deaths in the country every year, and violates rights to health and well-being.
“I’m looking forward to telling our stories at COP and to finding solutions that other governments are moving towards in their own just transitions,” Mokoena said.
Africa is home to about a fifth of the world’s population, but produces less than 4 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions, the major driver of climate change.
Despite this, the continent is disproportionately affected by climate impacts such as drought and flooding.
Young climate change activists are pushing to be heard at this year’s COP, where 60 newly trained youth from 27 countries are acting as fully fledged climate negotiators.
In late September, young activists launched the African Climate Caravans project, which traveled to 28 African countries to mobilize 170 local organizations and thousands of supporters to demand climate justice before and during COP27.
“Way back, climate change wasn’t really an issue we spoke about,” Mbaama said.
“But now, we have seen the droughts, floods, deforestation and felt the high temperatures. Now we know the only way to save humanity is to talk about it, so that action can be taken,” she said.
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