Delegates from nearly 200 countries are leaving Dubai on Tuesday from November 30 after the COP28 climate conference with the aim of fast-tracking the transition to a clean-energy future.
At the global climate talks, experts are deciphering data to establish progress toward global climate goals, pathways for transition finance, biodiversity, the phase-out of coal-fired power, the greening of private assets, the evolution of carbon markets, and the emergence of resilience alongside other themes.
That climate risks pose serious threats to Kenya’s sustainable development goals need not be gainsaid. The economy of the country is largely dependent on rain-fed agriculture and tourism, and each is susceptible to climate variability and change and extreme weather events.
The measures that the country is pursuing include planting trees to increase forest cover from the current seven to 10 percent. The Government has set aside more than US$80 million (Sh12 billion) for this and last month it designated a public holiday for tree planting.
Although global concerns will usually be dominated by immediate issues, whether that be pandemics and inflation, data indicates that climate change, poverty and social inequality remain constant and significant worries that unite people across the world.
Two-thirds of the global population say they have experienced these effects in their region (this figure being as high as nine in 10 in parts of the global south), with 83 percent of people saying that we are heading for environmental disaster unless we change our habits quickly.
However, urgent, and immediate issues of day-to-day survival can take priority over important “long-term” matters such as climate change.
As COP28 ends in Dubai and plans for the next conference begin, we must stress the need for everyone to play a part in protecting the planet from degradation. This can be through sustainable consumption and production, sustainably managing its natural resources and acting on climate change.
The writer is the managing director at Ipsos in Kenya.
