Council of Governors’ chairperson Ann Waiguru on Wednesday addressed an EAC side event in the ongoing COP28 summit where she called for a coordinated approach to tackling the effects of climate change.
Waiguru regretted that while international efforts on mitigation have gained momentum, concerted and coordinated cross-country action on climate adaptation has been slower.
“Sometimes, even individual adaptation actions by one country can generate and transmit risks to other countries, leading to emerging transboundary adaptation risks,” she observed.
The session was themed ‘Domestication of climate actions for the transboundary ecosystem in building resilience and livelihood support systems’.
“The institutionalization of grassroots county climate change planning committees builds adaptive capacity and resilience, contributing to the development of Participatory Climate Risk Assessments (PCRA) and County Climate Action Plans (CCAP),” she stated.
According to the county boss, there was a need to strengthen collaboration among sectors responsible for managing ecosystems and those benefiting from ecosystem services within the regional bloc.
This, she said, will help to create holistic and effective resilience strategies.
She also urged the participants in the meeting to focus on one ecosystem-based approach by fostering the active involvement of local governments, institutions and stakeholders as primary actors in adaptation planning.
Waiguru further called for the adoption of gender-sensitive tools and approaches in adaptation planning to ensure inclusivity and address gender-specific vulnerabilities.
The Kirinyaga governor is part of the Kenyan delegation to the summit which ends next week.
One of the priorities for Africa at COP28 was to secure deals that would triple investments in renewable energy on the continent after the Africa Climate Summit failed to deliver ambitious outcomes on renewable energy.
At the summit, renewable energy investments received largely lukewarm attention as the event hosted by Kenya rallied leaders behind the so-called green investments, namely carbon markets, as the solution to emissions that have been caused by fossil fuels.
Kenya, she noted, has already aligned its national policies with the East Africa Community’s (EAC) legal regional frameworks.
This is being actualized through initiatives which include the National Climate Change Response Strategy, the Climate Change Act, and the National Adaptation Plans (NAPs).
At the county level, she stated, they have enacted policy and legal frameworks by establishing county Climate Change Funds.
“We have been able to invest approximately $20 million (Sh3 billion) of public funds annually towards supporting climate actions aligned with local needs,” she said.
With the shifting climate patterns, EAC member states should explore strategies to both mitigate and adapt to the transboundary challenges arising from it.
During his address on December 1, President William Ruto on his part challenged leaders attending the summit in Dubai to develop clear and actionable climate change roadmaps for implementation.
The approach to this, he said, must be collaborative, inclusive, and anchored in justice.
“The world is watching and what we deliver at COP28 will be a testament to whether we are capable guardians of this planet and competent stewards of its sustainability,” he said.
He said that global leaders have the power, the means, and the responsibility to act.
The meeting, he noted, should be a turning point towards a just and equal world of opportunity safe from the looming threat of a climate disaster.
More than 200 leaders from governments, businesses, NGOs and civil societies are attending the conference.
