PRSIDENT KENYATTA- CLIMATE CHANGE IS REAL, WE NEED TO METIGATE ITS EFFECTS

President Uhuru Kenyatta has underscored that climate change is an existential threat to Kenya even though the nation contributes less than 1 per cent of the current global greenhouse gas emissions.

Despite Kenya’s low contribution to climate change, President Kenyatta argues that the country has witnessed the effects of climate change first hand.

“To understand the gravity of the climate change threat, consider these numbers: Globally, Kenya is ranked as the 31st most vulnerable country to climate change. Climate change impacts lead to a loss of about 3% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) annually,” the Head of State said.

Kenyatta, who is currently on an official State visit to South Africa, spoke in a video during the 7th Annual Devolution Conference in Makueni County on Wednesday.

“In the last two years, we witnessed the worst locust outbreak in 25 years, which left about one million people food-insecure in the Horn of Africa and as we meet here today, about 2.5 million people in 23 counties are facing famine because of drought.”

The President consequently stated that the threat of Climate Change has necessitated the global community to come together through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to address the problem.

“Kenya is a signatory to the UN Framework Convention and has participated and made significant contributions during the just-concluded UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, the United Kingdom which some of you participated in,” he said.

On the national level, President Kenyatta insisted that his administration has implemented key reforms and policies to address climate change.

The policies include; The Climate Change Act 2016, The National Drought Management Authority Act (2016), the National Climate Change Framework Policy (2018), the National Climate Finance Policy (2018), the National Climate Change Action Plan (2018-2022), the National Adaptation Plan (2015-2030); and the Green Economy Strategy Implementation Plan (2016-2030)…