akisawyerr1_ CARL DE SOUZAAFP via Getty Images_freetown

Empoderar as cidades natais para serem saudáveis e resilientes

Dec 21, 2021 Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr

FREETOWN – Com o recente encerramento da Conferência das Nações Unidas sobre Alterações Climáticas (COP26) em Glasgow, começa o desafio de transformar palavras em ações. Mas nas capitais de todo o mundo, os obstáculos administrativos e políticos estão a dificultar a capacidade dos governos de enfrentar a crise climática com a urgência que ela exige.

Sei disso em primeira mão. Em Freetown, capital da Serra Leoa, os líderes locais estão a tentar lidar com as alterações climáticas de forma a ajudarem a comunidade a tornar-se mais saudável e resiliente, mas a burocracia a nível nacional é um fator de complicação.

Freetown não contribui de modo significativo para as emissões globais de gases com efeito de estufa, mas a cidade quer fazer mais para reduzir a sua pegada de carbono, principalmente à luz do impacte das alterações climáticas na saúde dos seus residentes. Construir uma cidade saudável é uma das quatro áreas principais da agenda Transformar Freetown que a autarquia local lançou em 2019 para preparar a nossa cidade para os desafios que enfrentamos.

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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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