International environmental activists, Greenpeace, have opened an office in Johannesburg to tackle climate change, deforestation and overfishing on the continent, it was announced on Thursday.

"While the environmental threats facing Africans are urgent and critical, Africa is in a position to leapfrog dirty development and become a leader in helping to avert catastrophic climate change and protect the natural environment," Greenpeace Africa executive director Amadou Kanoute said in a statement.

"We are here to help make that happen," he said

He said a second office would be opened in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo on 24 November and a third in Dakar, Senegal, next year.

"While Africa contributes very little to global warming, the region will be one of the hardest hit by its effects," said Kanoute.

"Over 180 million people in sub-Saharan Africa could die as a result of climate change by the end of the century.

"Unpredictable rainfall, lower crop yields and dwindling resources are causing mass migration, increased tension and conflict.

"South Africa needs to take a strong stand at the UN climate talks [in Poland next month] for a deal that includes substantial funding from the industrialised world for developing countries to adapt to and mitigate the devastating effects of climate change.

"The South African government should also support central African countries by backing moves to create a funding mechanism that makes protecting tropical forests and the climate more economical than logging," he said.

Kanoute said South Africa was the 14th highest carbon emitter in the world and had to commit to measurable actions to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, including ending its dependence on coal, without resorting to expansions in nuclear power.

"The country, as with Africa as a whole, is in a position to harness abundant renewable energy sources - solar, wind and biomass - and take a lead in an African energy revolution.

"An energy revolution that would not only help reduce climate changes but would bring electricity to rural areas, which is crucial for rural development, provide jobs and economic growth."

Sapa