Kenya govt urged to integrate climate change concerns

By Nneka Nwogwugwu

Kenya government has been advised to integrate climate change concerns in all its national development plans, programmes and policies.

Speaking at the Nairobi Summer School on Climate Justice currently ongoing at the Kenyatta University, Dr. Joseph Kurauka said rapid population growth, weak enforcement of environmental laws and structural weakness in key institutions meant to enforce laws to safeguard environmental, social and climate change concerns, are hampering national efforts to prepare the country against climate impacts.

“Climate-related conflicts among populations living in arid and semi-arid areas, rising poverty level, and the general negative attitudes towards environmental matters are issues the government has to deal with,” said the Kenyatta University don.

Kurauka urged the government to take heed of the advice from the latest climate science by the Intergovernmental panel on climate change whose latest report has once again proved that human activity is leading to rise in climate variability.

Speaking on the international climate change negotiations, Robert Muthami, Programme Coordinator with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Kenya Office noted that Africa continued to be worst hit by the climate crisis even exacerbating climate related-risks.

Muthami said it was important that local national adaptation actions are provided with the required means of implementation such as climate finance, capacity building and appropriate technologies in line with the conditional aspects in the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and the principle of common but Differentiated Capacities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC).”

He urged African governments to forge international solidarity and form strong alliances with the CSOs in the fight against the climate crisis saying, “No single movement will win this fight alone”