Posts in category: Climate Change

Margaret Nyaboke was an optimistic farmer as she supervised workers planting maize on her farm four months ago. She projected returns from sales of at least 75 per cent of the produce, and knew the remainder would last her small family a year.

But she was all wrong. A sizable portion of the crops soon started yellowing and their growth stunted. She has not experienced the yellowing and stunted growth for the 10 years she has been a farmer.

“We had rains for about one month, and we hurriedly tilled the land and planted. But the rains did not last,” she says.

Compared to the previous season, her maize harvest went down from 30 sacks to 26 in the last harvest season.

Due to the unpredictable weather patterns, Nyaboke is now contemplating shifting focus from maize farming to indigenous vegetables.

Africa has recently suffered extreme weather events such as prolonged droughts and flooding, besides unpredictable rain patterns that have disrupted farmers’ plans and messed yields, putting many lives at risk of food insecurity.

Globally, at least 350 million farmers appealed to leaders at the November 2022 United Nations    Framework Convention on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC) to increase adaptation finance. They also appealed for promotion of a shift to more diverse, low-input agriculture to help farmers adapt to climate change.

Statistics from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) have shown that more than 60 per cent of Africa’s 1.4 billion people live in rural areas and depend on climate-sensitive livelihoods like rain-fed agriculture.

Meanwhile, James Nyagwoka, who grows arrowroots in Kegati village, Kisii County, has joined in the efforts to tackle effects of climate change by adopting climate smart farming.

“Since the disruption of weather patterns in the last four years, I no longer depend on the rains, I irrigate my farm,” he said.

A water well and a nearby river provide steady supply of water to his farm, especially during the dry season.

Nyagwoka started growing arrowroots in 2015, as it is not prone to many diseases and pests and also because it requires little agronomic practices. He has utilised the spaces between the arrowroots to grow kales and spinach for subsistence and economic purposes.

As curtains closed on COP27 at Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, Adaptation Consortium, a Kenyan organisation emerged among winners of the Local Adaptation Champions Awards, organised by the Global Centre on Adaptation (GCA).

The awards recognise locally led efforts to adapt to the negative impacts of climate change across four categories: financial governance, inclusive leadership, capacity and knowledge, and local innovation.

Adaptation Consortium, led by Victor Orindi, was awarded for its efforts in bringing together people with a shared vision of empowering the community in responding and adapting to climate change challenges.

Speaking to our reporter after receiving the award, in the financial governance category, Mr  Orindi said his initiatives were inspired after he noticed that climate finance was not easily accessible to everybody, especially the vulnerable communities.

 “We noticed that while a lot was happening in climate finance, it was not happening in a coordinated manner. Vulnerable communities were not able to access funds and we noticed a barrier in sustained funding streams; and that communities could not have a say in the work to be implemented,” he said.

“So, we started bringing people together towards a shared vision of empowering the community.”

Mr Orindi, who is the National Coordinator of the Adaptation Consortium, said the only way countries can successfully mitigate climate change is by making sure that all voices are heard.

“Responding and adapting to climate challenges largely depends on context; and the only way you can get that right is by ensuring that those who are impacted have a say in terms of how and where things are done. So, enabling them to be involved in planning process ensures that their voices count at the end of the day,” Orindi added.  

“The Adaptation Consortium supports communities to create, access, and use climate finance from varied sources to reduce their vulnerability to climate change, while strengthening public participation in the management and use of funds.

Explaining the scientific word carbon credit to locals in Gazi and Makongeni Villages in Kwale County, Kenya was a very difficult task to Othman Sadiki, the coordinator of the Mikoko Pamoja Project.

Mikoko is a Swahili word meaning mangrove, while Pamoja means together.

Mikoko Pamoja Project, located in Gazi Bay Kwale County in Kenya, is a small scale carbon offset facility that seeks to provide incentives for mangrove restoration and protection through conservation activities, awareness creation and the sale of mangrove carbon credits along the coastal strip of Kenya.

Sadiki said it was an uphill task because the community could not easily understand how they could get money from preserving the mangrove trees along the Indian Ocean.

‘The locals were at first very hesitant because they could not understand how they could benefit from planting and protecting the mangroves, but we kept on educating them and when they saw the benefits, they are now embracing it,’ he said.

The project generates income for the Gazi and Makongeni communities through the sale of carbon credits, which are created from the carbon dioxide (CO₂₎ emissions avoided by the project. The credits are then generated through what is referred to as PES (Payment for Ecosystem Services).  

Since its inception in 2014, Mikoko Pamoja Community Based Organisation through technical support from Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI) has established new mangrove forests covering 10 hectares.

Sadiki says, they have sold more than 12,000 tons of carbon credits, which generated more than Ksh 6.2m (USD620,000).

‘32 percent of the payment goes to community projects, which helps them in improving their livelihoods,’ he said.

Sadiki adds that nearly 500 members of the community participate in the regular protection and planting of new mangroves. This intervention also creates job opportunities for the locals.

Sentiments echoed by Iddi Bomani, chairman of the project in Gazi village who reports that they have benefited from many community projects out of the carbon credit money.

‘We have bought books for our schools, built two classrooms, improved the health facilities in our hospitals and started a water project,’ he added.

‘Every rainy season we plant 4,000 mangrove trees and coupled with the fact that we have hired rangers to protect the area to help combat mangrove destruction, we are sure every year the money will be increasing,’ he said.

‘Carbon credit project is excellent for it has uplifted our living standards,’ he added.

The carbon credit sales drew attention to the just ended climate change summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt leading to the founding of Africa Carbon Markets Initiative (ACMI)  inaugurated at COP27. It aims to support growth of carbon credit production and create jobs in Africa.

Led by a thirteen-member steering committee of African leaders, chief executive officers, and carbon credit experts, the initiative aims to expand Africa’s participation in voluntary carbon markets. It was inaugurated in collaboration with The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), and the UN Economic Commission for Africa, with support of the UN Climate Change High Level Champions, Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin and Nigel Topping.

‘Carbon markets offer an incredible opportunity to unlock billions for the climate finance needs of African economies while expanding energy access, creating jobs, protecting biodiversity, and driving climate action,’ said Mohieldin.

However, he noted that Africa currently produces a tiny percentage of its carbon credit potential. He said some of the ambitions is for the growth of African Voluntary Carbon markets to produce 300 million carbon credits annually by 2030, and 1.5 billion credits annually by 2050.

They also hope to unlock Kshs 6 billion (USD48.8m) in revenue by 2030 and over Kshs 120 billion (USD975.6m) by 2050. Further, they will support 30 million jobs by 2030 and over 110 million jobs by 2050 and distribute revenue equitably and transparently to local communities.

Climate activists from across sub-Saharan Africa have accused African leaders of using COP 27 to undermine the goals of the Paris Agreement, by pushing for more fossil fuel deals at the expense of people and the continent. 

Barbra Kangwana, Safe Lamu and Climate activist from Kenya said the government proposed a coal plant at Lamu, a UNESCO world heritage site, in the name of boosting the national electricity supply back in 2019.

“Trying to fathom the damage that would have happened to the small coastal town left us restless. The locals were given the false hope of getting jobs at the plant. The glaring truth is, you cannot claim to feed a population you are killing slowly,” said Kangwana.

“We raised our voices, lobbied, signed petitions, went to court, and eventually the people won. This is a clear case of failing systems, and when systems fail, the people rise,” he said.

Patience Nabukalu, Stop EACOP and Fridays for Future activist from Uganda said the East African crude oil pipeline, a French-Chinese project is a clear example of colonial exploitation in Africa and across the global south.

“With 1444km running from Uganda to Tanzania – it would become the longest heated oil pipeline in the world, releasing 34 million metric tons of CO2 emissions per year, substantially adding to the climate breakdown,” she noted.

Nabukalu said EACOP is not going to develop the country. This is because peoples’ land was taken, leaving many homeless and poor. Critical ecosystems and biodiversity were left at risk of oil spills such as Lake Victoria, rivers, national parks, animals and birds, as well as aquatic life.

“We remain hopeful and vigilant as banks and insurers like Standard Bank, Deutsche Bank and Lloyds have withdrawn their support for EACOP. We will continue to resist until everyone involved abandons it completely. We resist for our people and their land and heritage,” she said.

The activists spoke on the sidelines of the COP-27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt as the summit neared closure.  They vowed to resist any further fossil fuel expansion on the continent.

Mbong Akiy, Head of Communication for Greenpeace Africa said the fossil fuel industry has degraded people, lands, oceans and air.

African group of negotiators have expressed disappointment that the Sh12 trillion (USD100b) pledge to developing countries remains unfulfilled.

This money is an equivalent of five times to Kenya’s 2022/2023 financial budget of Sh2.4 trillion.

Alioune Ndoye, President of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) underscored the importance of delivering the USD 100 billion as soon as possible.

He said this will help build trust and faith in the multilateral process of addressing climate change.

“We urge developed countries to deliver on their commitment to meet the goal and ensure the progression of efforts in the on-going mobilization of climate finance,” said Ndoye.

He spoke during a media briefing on the status of the negotiations at COP 27 in Sham El Sheikh, Egypt.

“We urge developed countries to take the lead in implementing their targets while providing enhanced support to developing countries,” he said.

Collins Nzovu, Chair of the African Group of Negotiators said COP-27 has been dubbed an implementation COP, and that African Group are focused and determined to ensure they deliver on implementation.

“We also view COP-27 as an African COP being held on African soil, a continent that is worst affected by the climate crisis and yet contributes least to the pollution that causes climate change,” said Nzovu who is also the Environment Minister in Zambia.

“As such, we expect COP-27 to result in tangible outcomes which reflect people’s aspirations, including Africa’s special needs and special circumstances,” he said.

Nzovu alluded that Africa is a continent plagued by complex overlapping challenges, and many generations of Africans have been left behind and suffer consequences of actions not of their own making.

“The systemic problems facing Africa require dedicated and targeted interventions. This will also unleash our continent’s potential to contribute to achieving the 1.5c world,” he said.

An initiative that seeks to reduce carbon emissions, a major contributor to the warming of the earth, has been launched.  

The announcement was made at the on-going UN Summit on Climate Change popularly referred to as COP-27 being held at Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt.

Why is carbon important?

Carbon is in carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas that traps heat close to Earth. It helps the Earth to hold some of the heat it receives from the Sun so it doesn’t all escape back into space. But carbon dioxide (CO₂₎ is only good up to a point – beyond that point, Earth’s temperature warms up too much

The strategy is a collaborative venture of 25 new collaborative actions to be delivered by COP28 to speed up the decarbonisation (reduction of carbon emissions) under five key breakthroughs of power, road transport, steel, hydrogen and agriculture.

Historic support by three COP Presidencies for COP26, COP27 and COP28 drives forward implementation from Glasgow to Sharm El Sheik and into the United Arab Emirates-hosted COP and sends a signal of intent to the private sector.

Actions target sectors accounting for more than 50% of global greenhouse gas emissions and are also designed to reduce energy costs and enhance food security, with buildings and cement sectors to be added to the Breakthrough Agenda next year

Under the Breakthrough Agenda countries representing more than 50% of global GDP set out sector-specific ‘Priority Actions’ to decarbonise power, transport and steel, scale up low-emission hydrogen production and accelerate the shift to sustainable agriculture by COP28. These measures are designed to cut energy costs, rapidly reduce emissions and boost food security for billions of people worldwide.

In Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt

Kenya’s indigenous and forest-dwelling communities may not have a direct opportunity to voice their agenda at the COP27 summit in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt.
The hunter-gatherers such as Ogiek, Sengwer, Yaaku Waata and Sanya, and pastoralists like Endorois, Turkana, Maasai and Samburus may not even be following the proceeding of the two weeks conference that has galvanised more than 120 powerful leaders to tackle the climate change crisis.

Interestingly, not even the high-powered Kenyan delegation has representatives of the indigenous communities.
However, their efforts to save the ancestral forests should raise ambitions as donors at the COP27 meeting say they are on track with the Glasgow pledge to meet their annual funding levels and help the indigenous forest conservation efforts and stop the plundering.

During the high-level segment at COP27, the donors behind the Indigenous Peoples’ and Local Communities (IPLC) pledge, presented their progress towards meeting the $1.7billion (Sh207 billion) commitment by 2025, as promised in Glasgow last year.

Pledged countries

Five countries namely the Federal Republic of Germany, Kingdom of Norway, Kingdom of the Netherlands, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America and 18 philanthropic institutions, chaired by the UK and Ford Foundation, committed to this landmark pledge at COP26.

This new level of recognition of the role indigenous people and local communities play in addressing the climate and nature crises by protecting and maintaining the worlds remaining rainforests has given hope to indigenous people in Kenya.

“This is a very welcome move and shows that the work done and advocacy efforts by indigenous people are being recognised at the global level,” said Mr Joseph Towett, the Ogiek Council of Elders chairman. 
He added: “This is a major win for the Ogiek community. We hope to remain steadfast in protecting the Mau forest and other forests in Kenya and the government should also support our efforts instead of waiting for the donors to make the first move.”

The donor progress report finds that they are meeting the target; meaning they disbursed close to one-fifth of the total amount in 2021, the first year of the five-year pledge.