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akisawyerr1_ CARL DE SOUZAAFP via Getty Images_freetown

赋能健康、有弹性的家乡

Dec 21, 2021 Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr

弗里敦—随着在格拉斯哥召开的第26届联合国气候变化会议（COP26）的闭幕，将言辞转化为行动的挑战随之开始了。但在世界各国的首都，行政和政治障碍正在阻碍政府以形势所需的急迫来应对气候危机变化。

我从自己的亲身经历了解到这一状况。在塞拉利昂首都弗里敦，当地领袖正试图以帮助社区变得更健康、且更具弹性的方式来应对气候变化，但国家层面的官僚主义却令问题变得复杂。

弗里敦在全球温室气体排放中所占的份额不大，但这座城市希望采取更多措施来减少其碳足迹，尤其考虑到气候变化会对居民健康造成影响。建设健康城市是弗里敦改造计划的四大关键领域之一，当地议会于2019年启动了这项旨在让城市做好准备面对挑战的改造计划。

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Kurt Kristensen Jan 3, 2022

As global climate changes accelerate across the planet, the temptation will be to acquiesce to large, country, regional and globally directed and financed solutions. This temptation should be carefully examined.

In the US we are seeing oil companies acquiring small solar and wind projects, because they have the scale and lobbying power to push through projects quickly. But, local residents are often unable to, or prevented from, examining the complex impact of such large scale green energy projects.

The author states: "Effective climate-change mitigation and adaptation in cities like Freetown requires putting politics aside. Protecting residents from the consequences of global warming – like extreme heat, heavy rain, and increased risk of disease – requires officials at all levels of government to work together to develop and implement creative solutions. Otherwise, our citizens will continue to suffer the most significant effects of a crisis they did little to create." This is an experienced African official reminding us that the up-welling of local initiatives often produces the most robust variety of solutions to any challenge.

We have failed with BIG SOLUTIONS, such as NAFTA, Long-Supply Chains, Huge oil tankers with single hulls, mega-corporations owning entire food supply systems, global pharmaceutical conglomerates forcing on-size-fits all on everyone, everywhere, with WHO and CDC troublesome partnerships with mega-entrepreneurs such as the Gates Foundation.

The author is encouraging us to switch focus, help and encourage local solutions, from Sierra Leone to Italy, Greenland and the US Appalachian.

The non-profit www dot kiva dot com has done an excellent job offering individuals in the developed world the opportunity to directly fund people with good ideas and urgent needs anywhere. Their repayment record is over 90%, which is vastly better than those of Wall Street and the World Bank during the Post WWII era.

Local communities and local, passionate regulators really deserve to be given a chance. BIG SOLUTIONS have only benefited the non-local already too rich shareholders. Perhaps we need to learn to listen better to one another, and only accept funds and help from power brokers and non-local sources when they accept full responsibility for all the long-term consequences.

The author is asking for all of us to listen, and Bless locally driven solutions, everywhere. Perhaps we ought to try that approach for the remainder of this century.
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