Kenya: Civil Society Organizations have called upon national and county governments to develop and implement sustainable climate change measures, focusing on building resilient communities and sustainable economies.
According to Kenya News Agency, during a recent protest, climate activists, led by Willis Okeyo, a climate change ambassador, highlighted the need for the government to focus on disaster preparedness rather than solely on response. Okeyo pointed out that it is more cost-effective to prepare for disasters than to respond to them after they occur.
The protest, organized by climate activists, demanded climate justice for victims of climate change, particularly women, children, youths, and people with disabilities. These groups are often disproportionately affected when disasters strike, with children facing disrupted education and increased risks of waterborne diseases due to water scarcity caused by climate events.
Activists used slogans such as ‘We want non-debt climate finance,’ ‘Polluters Pay,’ and ‘Climate change is a human rights issue,’ to convey their message. Okeyo stressed the vulnerability of women to the impacts of climate change and called for their issues to be addressed at the ongoing COP28 UN climate summit in Dubai.
The activists advocated for the inclusion of women, disabled individuals, and other vulnerable groups in decision-making processes related to climate change. They emphasized the need for compensation for the losses and damages caused by climate change, arguing that the international community should share this responsibility.
Gertrude Tala, the Project Lead at Women’s Empowerment Link (WEL), stated that they were uniting with women globally under the Women and Gender Constituency to demand climate justice. Tala explained that climate justice involves compensating those who have contributed the least to pollution, which is a primary cause of climate change. Women and marginalized groups face different impacts and destabilization due to climate change, and they demand compensation for their losses and damages.
Tala also noted that the affected individuals typically do not own vehicles or industries and are not involved in fossil fuel use, yet they suffer the most from consequences like house submersion during heavy rains and flash floods. The protesters emphasized that those who suffer the most from pollution are often the least responsible for it.