COP18 (28/11/2012) – Mithika Mwenda, the Coordinator for the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance describes the work of his organisation in lobbying governments to integrate climate change and sustainable development into national strategies in Africa and raising awareness of justice issues at international negotiations.
He describes climate justice in terms of equity, citing the example of America’s swift response to the recent Superstorm Sandy to demonstrate the different capabilities and capacities of countries at COP18. He asks, if the storm had hit an African or Latin American country, how different would the response have been?
He interprets the principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibility in the Convention as showing that the capabilities of all countries cannot fairly be accepted as equal. He describes his work finding allies with shared values at COP18 and lobbying members of the US Senate to raise awareness of the need to share the challenges of climate change and work together to overcome them for the good of humanity and the planet.