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Lilian Gakuhi, an environmentalist from Kenya joined other champions in a roadshow to demand climate reparations, loss, and damage finance as an advocacy for climate justice.
“As environmentalists, climate activists, and climate champions we can use our voices to speak for climate justice, nature, and communities existing with nature. I had a great opportunity to link up with other environmentalists, climate activists, and climate justice advocates from Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), Laudato Si Movement, Fridays for Future (FFF), and Green Peace Africa in a global climate strike on 24th Sep 2022 in Nairobi, Kenya. The strike happened along a 10.2 km walk from Nyayo stadium to the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA). The agenda of the strike was to demand climate reparations, climate loss, and damage finance,” Gakuhi said.
Among the people present was Mr. Charles Mwangi, the Head of Programs and Research at PACJA.
Charles said, “Damage has been done in most African communities as a result of climate change and therefore we need compensation for loss and damage as well as climate financing for mitigation and adaptation mechanisms.”
Climate events are currently a critical concern in Africa and they are expected to become more intense and frequent with negative impacts on people’s livelihoods.
Despite accounting for only 4% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, Africa is considered the most vulnerable continent to the impacts of climate change according to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
In many instances, the impacts of recurrent extreme events will exceed the adaptive capacity of developing countries resulting in irreversible economic and non-economic losses and damages.
Therefore there is a need to mobilise climate loss and damage finance to help people who have contributed the least to the climate crisis but continue to suffer the most due to the impacts.
African communities are paying with their lives, wealth, and culture hence the issue of climate justice is a top priority for Africa and Kenya is on the frontline in the fight on climate justice discourse.