Failure to invest the bare minimum required to withstand projected climate damage could cost emerging markets such as Kenya billions in damages and lost GDP growth.
A new study by Standard Chartered Bank shows that Kenya will need $200 million (Sh25.2 billion) as the minimum investment required for climate adaptation.
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The Adaptation Economy, report says that Kenya could avoid costs of an estimated $2 billion (Sh2.5 trillion) by investing $200 million (Sh25 billion) in adaptation.
“Kenya is making great strides in laying the foundations to manage climate risk but will need to adapt to climate change at a faster pace by building more resilient agriculture, industry and infrastructure,” said head of corporate, commercial and institutional banking Kenya and East Africa Birju Sanghrajka.
The report says even if the world’s nations manage to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, measures to adapt to climate change must be pursued alongside the global decarbonisation agenda.
The banking sector is identified as having a critical role to play in unlocking finance.
Without investing a minimum of $30billion (Sh3.8 trillion) in adaptation by 2030, Kenya, China, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan could face projected damages and lost GDP growth of USD377 billion (Sh47.5 trillion).
The $30 billion investment required for adaptation represents only slightly more than 0.1 per cent of combined annual GDP of the 10 markets in the study.
Measures of climate adaptation projects include the creation of coastal barrier protection solutions for areas vulnerable to flooding, development of drought-resistant crops, development of extreme climate resistant housing and early-warning systems against pending natural disasters.
