Nisreen Elsaim has been a climate activist for a dozen years, much of it focusing on the intersection of war and climate change. In April 2023, it became per- sonal, when she awoke in her native Sudan to the ex- plosions and gunfire of an erupting civil war.
Ms. Elsaim, her hus- band and their infant son eventually fled the coun- try, among the millions dis- placed by a war that deci- mated crops and livelihoods. Those who went to refugee camps found themselves dis- placed again when heavy rains and flooding des- troyed shelters and severe- ly hindered aid delivery in a country the United Na- tions ranks as one of the world’s most vulnerable to climate change. It’s a story Ms. Elsaim is telling at the United Nations climate talks in Baku, which she says must suc- ceed for countries like hers to have any chance to suc- cessfully adapt to climate change.
“We don’t have the pri- vilege of losing hope,” she said.
The chief goal of COP29, as this year’s talks are known, is working out how much money wealthier na- tions will pay to help deve- loping countries like Su- dan. It’s a task that all sides world leaders, protes- ters, and experts – say is made more difficult by wars like those enveloping Gaza and Ukraine.
The wars are a distrac- tion from confronting the climate crisis, they say They waste money that could be used in the cli- mate fight. And they cast doubt on the world’s abili- ty to cooperate.
“We meet at a moment where faith in our ability to stand together is broken,” Al Hussein bin Abdullah, the crown prince of Jor- dan, said in a speech in Ba- ku’s opening days.
“Saving our planet must start from the premise that all lives are worth saving. The solidarity we need de- pends on embracing that truth.”
Many world leaders used their opening re- marks to describe how ex- treme weather had rav- aged their countries, making issues such as po- verty, energy security and access to water and food worse or more uncertain.
“Climate change is now emerging as a major global threat,” Uzbekistan Presi- dent Shavkat Mirziyoyev said.
