Beyond COP27: A time for urgent climate action

At COP27, countries responded to the recommendations made by the Breakthrough Agenda Report published in 2022 with a package of 28 Priority Actions to decarbonise the power, road transport, steel, hydrogen and agriculture sectors in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement. [Carole Kimutai, Standard]

Today, several parts of the world have become uninhabitable because of climate change.

The worst is that millions of families are no longer guaranteed a meal due to the consequential famine. It's no longer distant.

Following the Conference of Parties (COP27) climate talks in Egypt last month, the focus is now shifting to whether countries will meet the many commitments they made to aid in the fight against climate change. Africa is increasingly grappling with the effects of climate change, with devastating impacts on households and economies across countries.

Every day, we witness examples of the devastating effects of climate change - rivers are drying up, farmers are no longer guaranteed a solid harvest, thousands of animals are succumbing to drought and agribusinesses and associated value chains are being affected due to uncertainty of raw material availability.

People are dying of hunger, with statistics from across East African countries worrying. This has everything to do with climate change and inaction from critical players.

It is clear that we are not on the right trajectory to achieve the global climate target commitment of limiting warming to 1.5 Celsius above pre-industrial levels as set out in the Paris Agreement to reduce emissions and achieve net zero by 2050.

Paris Agreement

The Emissions Gap Report 2022 finds that the world must cut emissions by 45 per cent to avoid global catastrophe.

The same report indicates that the world is not on track to reach the Paris Agreement goals and global temperatures could reach 2.8C by the end of the century.

At COP27, countries responded to the recommendations made by the Breakthrough Agenda Report published in 2022 with a package of 28 Priority Actions to decarbonise the power, road transport, steel, hydrogen and agriculture sectors in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement.

The report recommended strengthening collaboration between governments, businesses and civil society in areas such as common standards, technology research and development, trade and improving technical and financial assistance.

Looking beyond this, it's estimated that African economies will require at least $1.3 trillion (Sh160 trillion) to implement the Paris Agreement mandate by 2030 with governments and major financial institutions being asked to increase their efforts through enhanced lending mechanisms.

To start this journey, the African Union Commission and the Global Centre for Adaption signed a memorandum of understanding to mobilise at least $25 billion (Sh3 trillion) for the African Adaptation Acceleration Programme - established by the centre and the African Development Bank - over five years.

Private sector

This is to prepare the continent for the consequences of climate change faster and at scale. Money has been committed through the loss and damage fund to help developing countries fight climate change. However, the effects and impacts of climate change persist.

It is high time that the private sector takes bold acts in addressing the above-highlighted challenges.

Faced with new urgency to rethink their climate initiatives and raise their ambitions, the lack of proper financing and enabling environment continues to cripple their capabilities in combating the effects of climate change.

Failure to limit the temperatures rising would be catastrophic to humanity. Therefore, we all have a part to play. As a partner, KCB Group is committed to taking action against climate change by aligning its activities with national and global ambitions and commitments to bolster climate action.

To drive climate action, we have set a target to transform our book and increase our green finance portfolio from 8.4 per cent in 2021 to 25 per cent by 2025.

This is an ambitious target that will be achieved through strategic partnerships with like-minded partners such as the International Finance Corporation and Green Climate Fund, among others.

It is crucial to act quickly to prevent climate change and its catastrophic effects to save lives and livelihoods. We have the opportunity, the manpower and the assets to enable our communities to thrive.