Save the Children and Haldor Topsoe help children in Mali fight the impacts of climate change

af Topsoe A/S

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Photo: Seyba Keita / Save the Children

Mali is strongly exposed to the consequences of climate change as extreme weather events become more frequent and forceful leading to lack of water, destruction of crops, malnutrition, hygiene issues, and desertification.

The children of Mali are disproportionately affected as they are vulnerable to the health consequences of the climate and environmental crisis making them extra exposed. Children born in Mali could be facing up to 10 times as many crop failures as their grandparents a new report from Save the Children just revealed.

Now, Topsoe and Save the Children launch The Green School Project. The project supports 18.000 children in schools to actively engage in initiatives and actions which prevent or mitigate effects of climate change and conflict.

“With Haldor Topsoe as our partner it’s possible to increase an important focus on school children when talking about challenges concerning climate change in Mali. The focus is a part of the important humanitarian aid-programme under the Danish International Development Agency (Danida) focusing on climate change and school children", Jakob Eilsøe Mikkelsen, Area Representative for Africa, Save the Children, says.

For Topsoe, the partnership serves two purposes:
“We actively engage in mitigating climate change both in the way we conduct our business, but also by supporting public organizations and NGO’s. Therefore, we are proud to be a part of this project that will positively influence the daily life of vulnerable children in Mali who are already affected by climate change,” says Stinne Hjulmann, Sustainability Specialist at Topsoe.

The Green School Project is a pilot project in Mali and is expected to be spread throughout the country and to other countries in the Sahel region.

Topsoe aims to empower the next generation in attaining the possibility to create a socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable future for themselves, their families, and society at large through partnerships. Read more in Topsoe’s sustainability report.

About The Green School Project
The project aims to:

• Increase knowledge about climate change among 18.000 children and their local community
• Increase skills to mitigate and prevent climate change
• Enable children to become change agents in their local environment
• Enable schools and the school system in the Mopti region of Mali to be greener
• Inspire other projects, NGOs, and children and youth to be mindful about natural resources.