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The Africa Climate Week and Summit which opened in Nairobi yesterday offers an invaluable opportunity to address one of the greatest challenges facing humanity today – the climate crisis.

As host of the annual event, the government of Kenya must ensure that African leaders attending the talks make ambitious pledges and commitments towards the adoption of a “pledging and commitment framework.”

This task is achievable since the event brings together global leaders from governments, businesses, international organizations and civil society to explore ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while adapting to the mounting fallout from the climate crisis.

The summit kicked off yesterday with a collective march in a procession calling for an end to fossil fuels. During the summit, the leaders are required to consolidate the African position and build momentum for the crucial UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai in November.

COP 28 is expected to see the conclusion of the first Global Stocktake designed to chart the way for fulfilling the Paris Agreement’s goals and provide region-focused contributions to inform the Global Stocktake.

The Paris Agreement is a legally binding treaty on climate change. It was adopted by 196 parties (nations) at COP21 in Paris, France, on 12 December 2015 and took effect on 4 November 2016.

Its overarching goal is to hold “the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels” and pursue efforts “to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

However, in recent years, world leaders have stressed the need to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of this century.

That is because the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change indicates that crossing the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold risks unleashing far more severe climate change impacts, including more frequent and severe droughts, heatwaves and rainfall.

Africa Climate Summit 2023 is organized into four systems-based tracks, each focusing on specific themes that address issues related to the climate crisis.

The four themes are first, energy systems and industry, second, cities, urban and rural settlements, infrastructure and transport, third, land, ocean, food and water and fourth societies, health, livelihoods and economies.

Africa’s carbon footprint in greenhouse gas emissions remains small, but the human toll of climate change is disproportionately high on the continent.

The urgency to address loss and damage and configure appropriate financial mechanisms for resilience is growing with each extreme weather event.

The summit is happening when the National Dialogue Committee comprising Kenya Kwanza and Azimio la Umoja leaders are due to begin talks in a bid to resolve the national political and economic crisis, including the high cost of living.

In their deliberations, the leaders must factor in the issues that will be addressed at the climate summit, such as turning promises on climate change into action.

Of major significance to Kenya is the challenge of extreme poverty and food security. The UN has set ending hunger, achieving food security and improved nutrition as the second of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the year 2030.

To achieve these objectives, humanity must address a host of issues such as gender parity, ageing populations, youth unemployment and global warming. We must have more productive and resilient and sustainable agricultural sectors that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, water use and waste.

The risks if we fail? Malnutrition, hunger and even conflict.
—The writer comments on climate change and environmental issues

– [email protected]