Curb climate change, leaders asked

African leaders have been urged to recognise the severity of challenges posed by climate change, and value the role of research in meeting these challenges.

Closing the 5th Humboldt International Conference on climate change in Africa, which was hosted by UCT recently, university students from 17 African countries signed a student declaration, demanding that leaders commit themselves to improving the situation.

"We call for a unified African voice in the face of the challenges before us and urge our African leaders to make a firm and lasting commitment to address climate change challenges and to support research in Africa," said the declaration.

It was one of the resolutions taken at the weeklong event, attended by scores of top international researchers, including Nobel Laureate in chemistry Professor Paul Crutzen.

The declaration appeals to the leaders to invest in research capacity, promote a unified policy across African institutions on data acquisition, access and sharing, and develop a unified African view on climate change, which would contribute to the new round of the Kyoto Convention.