Letters

Climate change goodwill now requires capital

climate

Emaciated animals hit by drought in Kenya in 2017. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Six years ago, at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, former US President Donald Trump caused international uproar by refusing to make his country party to the Paris Agreement.

Early in November this year, world leaders met in Glasgow, Scotland, for another international conference on climate change, COP26. The talking points haven’t changed; it is still imperative that global efforts are focused on reducing the rate of global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

If climate neutrality isn’t achieved by mid-century, the whole world risks facing extreme impacts that are already visible.

Hurricanes and other extreme weather events are becoming more frequent. Droughts are already running rampant and the world’s water supplies for drinking and agriculture are dwindling. Biodiversity is rapidly reducing as species die off. We are only feeling a fraction of the potential human impact — widespread famine, health risks, and poverty and displacement. This is only the tip of the iceberg.

The only solution scientific consensus has held since the Kyoto Protocol of 1992 is significantly reducing the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere as humans pursue more industrialised and comfortable lives.

World leaders in both public and private sector agree, but the progress being made is a little too slow to shield us from experiencing the extreme effects of climate change.

So far, there have been sweeping declarations made by governments and businesses alike, but nothing has bucked the trend. All the goodwill in the world won’t do much if there is no capital behind it. We’ve known for decades that climate change is happening, but business as usual prevailed.

Kenya, which has only recently started being categorised as industrialising, increased industrial productivity to meet population demands, but little was done by investors to consider long-term sustainability.

The Kenyan government has tried to implement climate-forward laws and policies that make it easier for the country to go green. It is now time for investors to refocus efforts to — in addition to getting a healthy return on investment — reducing their carbon footprint and where possible reversing the havoc that we have already wreaked on the planet.

Governments cannot achieve the sub-1.5 degrees global warming threshold on their own. COP26 set collaboration as one of the main goals of the conference, saying that we must “work together to deliver” and “accelerate action to tackle the climate crisis through collaboration between government, businesses and civil society”.

To bridge the gap, incentivising investment that helps combat climate change is essential. The incentives, as is evident so far, don’t have to come from government alone. For instance, cognizant that buildings account for 39 percent of global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions come from buildings, World Bank and IFC implemented the EDGE certification that provides a measurable impact of green building.

Africa Logistics Properties owns and operates the first three EDGE certified industrial buildings in Africa and has given a real-world and localised case study proving that climate-smart investment can be profitable. The warehousing developer has taken the EDGE net-zero pledge that will see Africa Logistics Properties achieve carbon neutrality in all new developments by 2030.

Race against time

Buoyed by government laws and policies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the private sector should snap up opportunities that are better for the future of the country.

Kenya is working towards greening of economy through initiatives such as the Green Bonds Programme that aims to promote financial sector innovations that prioritise investment in climate-forward initiatives.

There are many challenges to be overcome when operationalising the National Climate Change Action Plan and other policies aimed at combating climate change.

These cannot be overcome without deliberate action from both government and private sector.

As President Uhuru Kenyatta said in his speech at COP26, “we must now recognise that we are in a race against time.”

Maruza Chikwanha Africa Logistics Properties Development Director