The African Youth Assembly called for compensation for Africa from wealthier nations from the West to mitigate climate change.

Mathew Greene, the West Africa regional speaker of the assembly, made the call in a statement on Friday in Jos.

Mr Greene said compensation became necessary due to the developed countries’ activities that led to image change in Africa and explained that the activities of the developed countries had increased the release of greenhouse gases with high global warming potentials on Africa, hence the need for steps to be taken to avert the situation.

“Countries of the Global South should respond accordingly to the alarming need to compensate the countries of the Global North for the impact of their activities on climate change,” he stated. “The series of engagements from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change should ordinarily have compelling force on the Global South to act speedily in terms of embracing a global response for climate change.”

According to him, the Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change has, on account of its guiding discussions, fingered the developed countries for contributing to the release of greenhouse gases with high global warming potentials and highly positive radiative forces, thereby posing a threat to global warming.

“If the average global warming is left to exceed two degrees celsius, Africans will be bedevilled by diseases, desertification and drought of immeasurable standard for an act we have zero or unrecognisable contribution,” added Mr Greene.

He maintained that to address the situation, developed countries should support Africa with the technical know-how and funding in order to fight global warming.

”To avert the aforementioned menace, the developed countries must raise up to the occasion and provide us with not only meaningful funding alone but also the technology that will aid Africa (to) protect itself against the heinous impact of climate change,” Mr Greene explained.

He explained that the assembly was the convergence of African youths from 45 countries on the continent to advance the African project.

(NAN)