In his book Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe as if forecasting the future, states “And now the rains had really come, so heavy and persistent that even the village rain-maker no longer claimed to be able to intervene.
He could not stop the rain now, just as he would not attempt to start it in the heart of the dry season, without serious danger to his own health.
The personal dynamism required to counter the forces of these extremes of weather would be far too great for the human frame.”
Fast forward 68 years later, and the problems that bedevilled Chinua’s generation seem to be worsening. The impacts of climate change are already being felt and will increase in magnitude if action is not taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The impacts including higher temperatures, drought, changing rainfall patterns, and increased climate variability are increasingly becoming a norm.
Africa stands out disproportionately as the most vulnerable region in the world despite having contributed negligibly to the changing climate, with just about two to three percent of global emissions.
As if responding to a call, Africa seems to have decided to take charge of its future. From September 4-6, a number of heads of state and industry leaders will be converging in Nairobi, Kenya for the inaugural Africa Climate Summit 2023.
The summit is expected to “serve as a platform to inform, frame, and influence commitments, pledges, and outcomes, ultimately leading to the development of the Nairobi Declaration”.
While this seems like a noble cause, one is tempted to ask: why re-invent the wheel? What unique points will be tabled for discussion that weren't at past fora such as the Conference of the Parties (COP) for the Kyoto Protocol and that of the Parties to the Paris Agreement, and the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN)?
Is it about time that we focused on a lot more implementation than talk?
Let us take a cue from Samuel Koranteng-Pipim’s Africa Must Think and free ourselves from the mental chains limiting our beliefs to take charge of our destiny.
To the champion of the Africa Climate Summit, President William Ruto, great initiative but let us move from talk to deliberate action.
Mr James Odongo is the CEO, of Kenya Extended Producer Responsibility Organization (KEPRO). [email protected]
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