An Afghan climate scientist is desperately fundraising so he can represent his country at COP26.
Nasratullah Mateen, 24, was selected by his peers as a delegate for the upcoming climate summit in Glasgow.
He wants to bring the devastating impact of climate change in Afghanistan to the attention of the world leaders who will be meeting there.
But the Taliban takeover and the UK’s tough travel restrictions are threatening to derail Mr Mateen’s plans.
“It is an impossibly expensive journey,” Mr Mateen said.
“Even though I am experiencing the worst and darkest days of my life here in Afghanistan, with a future filled with uncertainties and disappointments, I do not want to give up.”
As the British embassy in Kabul has been shut since the fall of the former Afghan government in August, he will need to travel to a neighbouring country to obtain a visa.
On arrival in the UK, he will then have to quarantine in a hotel for 10 days at a cost of £2,285.
Now Mr Mateen has set up a fundraiser to ensure he has the chance to plead his country’s case at the conference in November.
Afghanistan was ranked the sixth most affected country in the world by climate change in 2019.
Over the last 20 years, flooding and droughts have plagued Afghans.
Over 80% of Afghanistan’s population are farmers, but their agriculture is being destroyed by extreme weather and natural disasters.
Today, one in three Afghans are facing food shortages and the situation is expected to worsen under the Taliban regime.
Earlier in the year, Mr Mateen was working alongside The Mirror to raise awareness of the climate emergency as part of its NextGen International project.
He spent time with five teenagers living in Kabul to help them tell their climate change stories.
“Explaining the complex concepts of climate change and making them understand was not easy,” he said, “Because climate change and environmental issues are not a part of school curriculums in Afghanistan.”
His work came to a halt in August when the Taliban took control of the capital.
Afghanistan’s environmental issues have been overshadowed by decades of war, but climate change is directly fuelling fighting across the country.
“The link between climate change and conflict is very clear,” said Mr Mateen. “The impacts of climate change create additional conflicts over resources.”
Despite the resurgence of the Taliban, Mr Mateen insists that he will continue to speak out about the environmental problems that plague his country.
He first became interested in climate change when studying Environmental Sciences at Kabul University.
He then worked as an environmental advisor to the former Afghan government, while also founding Climate Strike Afghanistan to organise climate protests, inspired by the school strikes initiated by Greta Thunberg.
Mr Mateen still has to raise over £3,000 to make it to Glasgow in November, but he is determined to keep trying.
“I am not a ‘climate champion',” he said. “I am a concerned citizen of our beautiful, blue planet.
"I want our coming generations to have a wonderful future.
"For me, that means at the very least living in a world like the one I grew up in.”
- To help get Mr Mateen to COP26, you can donate here
