African Climes

  The 28 th conference of parties to the UNFCCC will be held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates from November 30 th to December 12 th . The COP presidency has outlined four thematic areas which are transitioning to clean energy; centering nature, people, lives and livelihoods; delivering on finance and mobilizing inclusivity. This yearly international meeting deliberates on climate policy globally and sets the pace for action. It involves practically everyone – governments (parties to the UNFCCC), business and corporations, civil society, media, financial institutions, youth, women, indigenous peoples, regional governments and UN agencies. Image courtesy                 The most important issues in focus this year will first of all be the global stocktake (GST). This is a process enshrined in the Paris agreement which seeks to assess climate progress in view of attaining the goals of the 2015 agreement. What have we done, where are we and w...

One of the global development goals agreed on universally is gender equality. Climate change is an issue of paramount global importance and clean water and sanitation is a human rights issue in many parts of the world. Gender, water and climate change are issues that are inextricably tied together. They are number 5, 6 and 13 of the Sustainable Development Goals.  Women are affected by climate change differently from men. And climate change is primarily felt through water. Most of climate change effects are water related. One of the ways that climate change affects women in the lens of water is in agriculture. A good percentage of the world’s agriculture is small holder, subsistence in nature and done in a rural setup. Majority of farmers in rural areas especially in Africa are women while most of agriculture is rain-fed. It relies on rainfall and precipitation patterns are increasingly being affected by climate change. Droughts, inadequate rainfall and heatwaves cause wate...

 A just transition is a broad concept that encompasses the shift of the world from climate harming and environmentally polluting practices to ways that are good for the environment while being socially fair and just, and promoting economic prosperity. It is basically pegged on sustainable development – social equity, environmentally healthy and economically viable. The shift towards green economies will affect the world economically and basically sectors and people who have relied on fossil fuels for decades to earn a livelihood and for economic development. Therefore this transition needs to be just – to take into account the rights of workers and to be carried out in such a way that economies are able to adjust accordingly without taking too   much of a hit. This includes also social dialogue which is holding consultative forums with ordinary citizens and frontline communities on climate positive development and explaining the benefits of abandoning the use of fossil...

The Africa Climate Summit was a gathering of leaders and stakeholders in climate action that took place in Nairobi Kenya from 4 th to 6 th September 2023. It was a conference that involved everyone: women, youth, children, leaders, civil society, private sector, multi-lateral organizations, UN agencies, community organizations and indigenous peoples whose focus was on climate change in Africa, and took place concurrently with the Africa Climate Week. The theme was “Driving Green Growth and Climate Finance Solutions for Africa and the World.”  It culminated in the Nairobi Declaration and Call to Action that summarized the results of the conference. Image courtesy of African Union So let’s have a look at it. The Africa Climate Summit (ACS) was established by African Union (AU) decisions that accepted Kenya’s offer to host led by the head of the African head of states committee on climate change who is the Kenya's president. First, it commends Egypt for hosting COP27 and u...

Health is impacted by climate change in various ways because the wellbeing of people depends on the environment which in turn is affected by climate change. Everything required to sustain life is provided for by a habitable environment. Oxygen, freshwater, soil on which plants grow, and even the building blocks of urbanization, all that is derived from nature. But in terms of climate change, health is influenced primarily through the very important lens of water. Statistics put 80% of the world facing water insecurity in one way or another. They don’t have a safe and reliable source of enough freshwater for all their needs. Climate change will cause water scarcity through droughts and heatwaves but also floods and inundation because of too much rain, cyclones or sea level rise. Young African Medics. Image by Tyck/Iwaria To begin with, lack of enough drinking water causes dehydration and eventually death of people in times of strong drought or heatwaves. Agriculture is controlled ...