Farmers have petitioned a court in Kisumu to compel the government to limit the volume of greenhouse gas emissions in Kenya.
The five petitioners contend that the emissions are posing a threat to Climate Change.
They say the court should intervene and issue an order instructing the government to act more ambitiously to ensure realisation of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent by 2030.
It is their argument that the rise in earth's temperature can be prevented or reduced by limiting the volume of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere.
“Being in 2023 with the greenhouse gas concentration of approximately 401ppm shows that the world has very little leeway left when it comes to the emission of greenhouse gases. This leeway is what is referred to as the ‘carbon budget’ and as things currently stand, the chance that the warming of the earth can be limited to a maximum temperature increase of 1.5 degrees Celsius has become extremely slim," their documents state.
The five petitioners are Julie Atieno Ogolla , John Anyara Emukule , Carolyne Kanai Mutemi , Denzel Munge Sembele and Naom Moraa Nyariki.
They say they have brought the petition to court as they are severely affected by the retrogressive effects of climate change.
They say if the earth warms by substantially more than two degrees Celsius compared to the pre-industrial period, that would cause flooding due to rise in sea level, heat stress as a result of intense and long-lasting heat waves, forest fires, droughts, as well as disruption of food production and the supply of clean drinking water.
“Younger generations will have to deal with the adverse effects of climate change in their lifetime if greenhouse gas emissions are not adequately reduced,” they argue.
They want the court to compel CS Environment, chairperson of National Climate Change Council, secretary Climate Change Directorate, Director General NEMA, chairperson of Council of Governors, Office of the Deputy President, CS Energy and CS Treasury as members of the National Climate Change Council to cut the country's greenhouse gas emissions within one year.
This, they say, should be done by setting stringent emission targets for manufacturers and other polluters according to the mandate bestowed on them.
Also sought is an order against CS Environment and DG NEMA to within 90 days avail to them as of the year 2022 the current state of greenhouse gas emissions as well as a comprehensive blueprint on how Kenya shall receive its international nationally determined contributions of abating emissions by 30 per cent by 2030.
It is their argument that the most immediate and serious threat in Kenya is that of water, food and energy security, adding that greenhouse gas emissions are contributing to dangerous climate change from which the state has responsibility to protect.
According to the court documents, the country's economy is largely dependent on tourism and rain-fed agriculture, both of which are susceptible to climate change and extreme weather events.
They further argue that climate change is causing hunger episodes among schoolgoing children especially in rural areas and those in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands which also affect their right to education due to chronic malnutrition. This, they say, is threatening and infringing on their right to education.
The farmers have cited The Kenya air quality index, which states that a lot of the polluted air in the big cities comes from vehicle emissions and Kenya is no exception. Matatus are major polluters of the air.
