Talks prove climate war far from over

Leo upo, kesho haupo. Today you are there, tomorrow you are not. This Swahili proverb captures the essence of what happened, or didn’t happen during the recent global climate change talks in Lima, Peru.

Climate change has the power of wiping out what we have today and leaving us with an empty tomorrow.

Because climate change is a global phenomenon, only coordinated global action can deal with it decisively. Hence the United Nations organises yearly climate change meetings known as Conference of Parties. The recently concluded meeting in Lima was the 20th such session. It sought to establish what each country in the world should do to combat climate change. The meeting resulted in a global agreement known as ‘the Lima call for climate action.’

This call for action matters to Kenya and the rest of Africa because we are the most vulnerable to climate change yet the developed world is the main contributor to climate change.

According to this latest agreement, $10 billion (Sh900 billion) will be contributed to the Green Climate Fund for support to Africa and other vulnerable parts of the world. These funds will help countries like Kenya adapt accordingly to a changing climate. They will not be distributed in a one-size-fits-all manner, but will instead be dispensed as per specific needs and circumstances.

While these steps were commendable, the Lima agreement is only politically binding, not legally binding. This half-baked action plan may end up treating symptoms instead of dealing with the root cause of climate change. Developing countries like Kenya have always argued that the developed countries must legally commit to decisively addressing the emissions that got us into this climate mess in the first place.

The climate war is thus far from over! Accordingly, Africa must deliberately regroup and lay down strategies that will result in a much better agreement in the next climate talks to be held in Paris next year. I suggest that African Union makes the Paris talks a very big deal and provide leadership in mobilising the continent.
The Africa Union should treat a far reaching and legally binding climate deal as the independence issue of our times. The defunct Organisation of African Unity (OAU) midwifed Africa’s political independence in the early 60s. The African Union has a golden opportunity to midwife Africa’s independence from the diverse economic, social and environmental bondage that come with climate change.

Governments and organisations can be as only as successful as individuals leading them. The onus is, therefore, squarely on the shoulders of our presidents in Africa to spearhead a preparatory process that will liberate Africa from half-baked climate deals and never-ending vulnerabilities to climate change.

Think green, Act green!