The earth’s climate is determined by presence of naturally occurring green house gases eg methane, nitrous oxide, water vapour, Carbon Dioxide, tropospheric ozone etc.
Climatic changes occur when the atmosphere is transparent to incoming short waves which trap the long waves thus they are reflected back by the surface of the earth. The most substantial contributors to climate changes are; CO2 emissions from combustion of fossil fuel, production of cement, agriculture and other land uses (deforestation & forest degradation)
In 1988, the UNEP and World Meteorological Organization established Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC). The panel was constituted so as to provide scientific guidance necessary to take further action on climate change. The fifth IPCC report (2014) predicted under various “business as usual” emission scenarios, global mean temperature could rise by 3.7 and 4.8 degrees Celsius over the 21st century.
The consequences of these changes would be massive decrease in areas of sea ice & snow, rise in global mean sea level (45cm to 82cm), more frequent hot and fewer cold temperature extremes & increased frequency of extreme weather conditions e.g. floods, drought, cyclones, species extinction, threat to food security, exacerbation of existing human health risks, reduced water security, heightened risks of conflict and increases displacement of people.
Without additional mitigation measures beyond those currently in place, warming by the end of the 21st century will lead to very high risk of severe, widespread, and irreversible impacts globally.
As a result of evidence that human-induced climate change is already occurring and will continue to affect the Country over the coming decades, a surge in interest in impact-oriented action is indisputable.
Frustration over the lack of progress and effectiveness of policy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions has contributed to this shift from mitigation to adaptation. Adaptation responds directly to the impacts of the increased concentrations of greenhouse gases in both precautionary and reactive ways. This avoids the enormous political obstacles facing initiatives to curtail the burning of fossil fuels by factories, transport and other sectors.
Adaptation to climate change is considered relevant for Kenya, as the country is already struggling to meet the challenges posed by existing climate variability.
The recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report makes clear that “adaptation will be necessary to address impacts resulting from global warming, which is already unavoidable due to past emissions”.
As such, it supports adaptation as a complimentary response strategy to mitigation.
The effects of climate change can therefore be mitigated both at the national and at the county level through adaptation.
Community-based adaptation measure to climate change would include storage of fresh water during famine, raising of house levels that are located near the sea, increasing access to a wider range of livelihoods and reducing risks of social groups exposed to climate change risk through continuous capacity building and policy development
Ecosystem-based adaptation measures include coastal habitat restoration, agroforestry , integrated water resource management, livelihood diversification and sustainable forest management.
NECC Secretary
