Eric Njuguna

Climate finance is not aid. It’s reparations

Eric Njuguna is only 20 years old, but she has already done more to fight climate change than most adults. Working from Nairobi, Kenya, Eric joined Fridays for Future and its Most Affected People and Areas (MAPA) Network in 2017. MAPA aims to amplify global south climate activists’ voices globally and support their activism. Eric became one of the figureheads of the international movement. She signed the foreword to UNICEF’s groundbreaking “The Children’s Risk Index Report”, together with Greta Thunberg, Adriana Calderon and Farzana Jhumu, and represented Fridays For Future at COP26 and COP27, supported by Oxfam Novib. 

“What drives me? Well, this is about my future and the future of all people around me. In my country drought as a result of climate change has devastating effects on people and nature. Many farmers and pastoralists have lost their cattle and crops, their livelihoods have been destroyed. In 2017, drought even impacted my school’s water supply. That’s when I decided to get into action. I have learned that we need to fight to get heard. At COP26 for instance, people from the global south were deliberately excluded, while our voices bear the reality of what the climate crisis means to us.”

Eric also is a youth champion for the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. This initiative of Vanuatu, Tuvalu, the European Parliament and the World Health Organization calls on states to stop the expansion of fossil fuels and support a just transition towards renewable energy. That includes the Netherlands: “I think it’s the responsibility of Dutch people to demand their government to stop subsidizing the fossil fuel industry.”

Talking about responsibility, Eric refers to the Loss and Damage Fund (see page xx ): “It’s about time rich countries start paying for the damage they caused and still cause. Yet it’s ambiguous, because no money in the world can compensate for the loss of lives as a result of climate change. Also, it’s important to stress that the fund must provide grants, not loans. That would only lead to more debt for countries that already struggle to make ends meet. Climate finance is not aid. It’s reparations.”

Activists worldwide are finding and supporting each other, but particularly in the global south they lack the resources to buy action materials, get trained or find a meeting place. Eric: “We spend a lot of time fighting for climate justice, but we also need to pay our rent and buy food. Therefore the “Tipping Point” initiative of Oxfam Novib, Extinction Rebellion and Fridays for Future, funded by the Dutch Postcode Lottery [see page xx] , is very important to us.”

“I like the aim of this initiative to make young climate activist movements stronger, bigger and more inclusive. As a queer person, who only recently openly identified as a girl, life has become more difficult. In Kenya queer love is criminalized, police constantly harass us, it’s hard to find a job and my parents kicked me out of our home. In fact, I am fighting two battles: I advocate for climate justice and for queer rights.” Despite all, Eric remains positive: “I really hope that love will win in the end and that I can be my true self. With regard to the climate crisis I am also hopeful. I know our power and the impact of our organizing to make a difference.”