In the bustling halls where global climate talks are being held, onetime farmer Joseph Kenson Sakala of Malawi is sharing the story of how fossil fuel development upended his life — and hoping that negotiators listen to many such stories and then move decisively to cut use of the coal, oil and gas warming the planet.
Sakala grew maize and produced enough to sustain his family and to help feed his broader community of Mchinji. But he was forced out by water and soil pollution from coal mining in his East Africa nation, he said, and Sakala now helps lead a non-governmental organization, Youth for Environment and Sustainable Development, that helps farmers adapt to climate change.
