By Innocent Onoh
Concerned groups and foundations in Africa have seen the need to challenge the stand of Donald Trump’s administration in the US on the sustenance of talks on Climate Change. The Zenaga Foundation in Senegal is the latest organisation to support the idea of becoming climate neutral through the UN Climate Neutral Now Initiative. So says the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
According to the head of the UN agency, Kai Zimmermann, “Climate Neutral Now addresses the core of the promise of the Paris Climate Change Agreement: developing a climate-neutral society before the middle of the century to ensure that we meet the objective of staying below a 2 degrees Celsius global average temperature rise, and ideally under 1.5 degrees Celsius”.
The foundation, which promotes reforestation, clean energy and other forms of sustainability, is said to be the first organisation operating in Senegal to commit to climate neutrality. Its projects include providing schools with clean solar energy, installing solar pumps to access clean water and providing learning material about climate action for school children.
The UNFCCC points out that, as a not-for-profit enterprise, the Zenaga Foundation has committed itself to contributing to global climate action by reducing its own greenhouse gas emissions, as well as balancing the remaining emissions with the help of UN-certified emission reduction projects.
The CEO of Zenaga Foundation said he would like other stakeholders to support the Climate Neutral Now initiative, which the UNFCCC leads. “Everyone can contribute to the activities that promote the sustainable development of our society and developing countries through a donation to the Zenaga Foundation or through credible compensation for CO2 emissions,” he argued.
The Manager of the Climate Neutral Now initiative, Niclas Svenningsen, enthused, “We are glad and honored to welcome the first organisation operating in Senegal. It is inspiring to see how big and small organizations from all over the world are stepping up to the challenge and contributing voluntarily to help us move toward global climate neutrality. We congratulate Zenaga Foundation for its vision and commitment.”
