Tutu says young people need to be heard on climate change

Young journalists interview Archbishop Desmond Tutu

The youth media reporters that Plan International has sent to the Copenhagen Climate Change conference have been working hard, and recently filed this report based on their interviews with Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

The story is by Annie (UK), Büsra (Sweden) and Beatrice (Kenya).

Archbishop Desmond Tutu today praised young people for fighting for climate justice in Copenhagen.

The Archbishop, who was at the crucial summit to ensure poorer countries get a fair deal, told Plan’s young reporters: “It’s great to see so many young people at the summit. They are right to say ‘this is our world too, you elders have made a mess of things and should get out of the way.”

"One of the most wonderful things is seeing young people like you engaged in campaigns like this one," he told the Plan delegation.

Human rights issue

The 78-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner also voiced his concern that the proposed 2 degrees Celsius cap on the average global temperature would be catastrophic for his native Africa.

“In Africa this would mean an increase of 3 to 4 degrees Celsius - and that’s hell.

“We used to have spring, summer, autumn and winter but now the seasons have become completely unpredictable, we are really at the mercy of the heavens.

“When you don’t have food, when you don’t have shelter, when you begin to suffer from disease such as malaria and cholera, those are human rights issues, especially when it is something which is caused by human action,” he said.

Listening

The veteran human rights campaigner had earlier listened to graphic accounts from people who had witnessed first-hand the terrible effects of climate change.

One woman from Bangladesh was on the brink of tears as she described how her home was swept away by cyclone Sidr in 2007.

Archbishop Tutu added: “It is vital that we hear stories like these. We must listen to competing voices and act upon them.

“The disaster is already in progress, but we have it in our power to end this injustice."

When asked what he does at home to combat climate change Archbishop Tutu said: “I want to be resting with my grandchildren, but I’m here! That is what I am doing.”

Find out more about the Plan-supported young reporters at the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.