Predictably, the three-day Africa Climate Summit held in Nairobi, which some critics have dismissed as a mere talk-shop—has been concluded with yet another serving of promises to African countries.
The rich countries and development partners have promised funding running into billions of dollars to help mitigate the corrosive effects of climate change. However, they have been non-committal on reparations. In fact, the US, one of the biggest polluters, was categorical that it would not pay a dime for the pollution they might be responsible for.
At MtaaSkika, a publication whose sole objective is to amplify the faint voices of people at the community-level, we chose not to be dragged into the politics of North-South divide that has blighted meaningful discussions on climate change. We know that climate change is real and that something needs to be done to address its acerbic effects on our communities.
We are imploring the various climate stakeholders—from the governments to development partners— to simply walk the talk.
As captured in our cover story for this week, thanks to climate change, Kenya is fast running out of arable land. Annual precipitations have been dwindling at an alarming rate, leading to conflicts over water. For a country that is far from being food secure, this is scary.
Concrete actions to address the effects of climate change, which are too clear for all to see, are urgently needed. We have in mind the impending El Nino rains, yet another creation of the climate change menace. We know that the El Nino rains will wreak havoc among our most vulnerable members of the community.
How prepared are we?