Green growth path offers firms a secure route to expansion

In climate change, Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) refer to formal commitments made by each country to cut national greenhouse emissions with the overall aim of ensuring they don't exceed the set temperature ranges and in turn irreversibly damage the environment for our generation and for future populations.

Businesses are not mutually exclusive from their environment and they will only succeed by taking care of the environment in which they operate. One way to do this is to have a framework to inculcate country climate goals into your business goals.

Greenhouse gases affect the environment, with the most common being carbon dioxide. Others are methane, nitrous oxide and hydrofluorocarbons. Their effect is behind the soaring temperatures, storms and flooding, changing health trends, among other damning effects.

Governments are expected to update and resubmit their NDCs every five years to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) secretariat. In the submissions, they should outline the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the targets of priority.

It is expected that targets should represent increased ambitions. It is also important to note that parties are also allowed to adjust their existing NDCs with a view to enhancing their level of ambition.

NDCs are central to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. The deal requires each party to prepare and communicate NDCs that it intends to achieve. Kenya is a member of the UNFCCC which had 198 members as of May 2023. According to the NDC-SDG connections, the first NDC submission of Kenya contributes the most to SDG 7 which is 'Affordable and Clean Energy' and SDG 13 which is ‘Climate Action'.

For SDG 7, some of the highest contributions relate to an increased share of renewable energy and access to affordable, reliable and modern energy for all. For SDG 13, some of the highest contributions relate to integrating climate measures in national policy-making and strengthening resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related and natural disasters.

The updated NDC submission of Kenya contributes the most to SDG 13 which is 'Climate Action' and SDG 9 which is 'Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure'.

For SDG 13, the highest contributions relate to improving education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change issues at the same time strengthening resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related and natural disasters.

For SDG 9, contributions relate to developing resilient and sustainable infrastructure with access for all and also upgrading infrastructure, increasing resource efficiency and adopting clean technologies.

From the foregoing, there are critical questions that contemporary businesses must start asking themselves what their contribution to climate change is.

The answers to these questions will place Kenyan businesses on a reliable trajectory towards much-needed sustainability.

The writer a Risk & Resilience professional, is currently the Head of Risk, Quality and Compliance at The Nairobi Hospital.