Extreme weather events call for urgent, bold climate action from global leaders

When protestors demanded a just energy transition from fossil fuel use to renewable energy at the COP28 Summit. [File, Standard]

As global leaders prepare for the COP29 summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, it has increasingly become clear that the urgency of the climate crisis is being felt more acutely mainly in climate-vulnerable countries like Kenya. The Allied for Climate Transformation by 2025 (ACT2025) consortium has recently released a compelling Call to Action, that emphasisees the critical need for finance and support to implement ambitious national climate plans and adapt to increasingly severe climate impacts. For Kenya and many other developing countries, the stakes could not be higher.

Kenya is still reeling from the recent disastrous floods across the country. The recent reports by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) paint a grim picture of the devastation wrought by the heavy rains and flooding across Kenya. As of May 9, 2024, an estimated 267 people had been killed, 188 injured, 75 still missing, 281,835 displaced, and almost 380,573 affected by persistent heavy rains and flooding. In addition, these extreme weather events have caused significant damage to infrastructure, including the destruction of 41,562 acres of cropland, loss of 9,973 livestock, and damage to 1,967 schools and 62 health facilities. The economic and social costs are staggering. These statistics tell us one thing - that indeed, there is an urgent need for robust and equitable climate action.