The start of COP26

British High Commissioner Jane Marriot. [Courtesy]

In Isiolo six weeks ago, I spoke to people in Shambani, just one community from a county at the forefront of a drought that is affecting over 2.1 million people. They knew that keeping their animals there for pasture could destroy the environment they rely on. But they had no choice, like many communities who face a harsh fight to survive.

The people of Shambani showed me how climate change is a daily reality here in Kenya, and across East Africa. It was clear to see. Despite bearing almost none of the historic responsibility for the carbon emissions which have caused climate change, Kenya is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to its effects.