- Confronting the impacts of climate change remains a tall order for the country
- Lack of resources for mitigation and adaptation remains the other challenge
Image: SOIPAN TUYA / X
Environment CS Aden Duale has said his major focus as he joins the new ministry is to confront the impact of climate change.
“As promised during my vetting, climate change will remain my major focus,” Duale said as he took over from Soipan Tuya on Monday.
Tuya, who was in charge of the docket, has since been deployed to the Defence ministry, previously held by Duale.
He termed climate change not only an environmental issue, but the "most serious existential challenge humanity faces today".
“Its impacts are profound, far-reaching and deeply personal to us all,” he said.
Kenya has experienced the harsh realities of climate change, despite contributing less than 0.3 per cent to global emissions.
“The prolonged droughts of the past two years, followed by destructive floods, have wrought devastating losses of lives and livelihoods. They have destroyed properties and public infrastructure,” the CS said.
“Kenya is among the most vulnerable nations. Our climate challenges are both severe and urgent.”
The ministry will support effective coordination of climate action by all national actors, including the government, private sector and civil society organisations, Duale said.
Climate change is a global challenge that demands international cooperation and the ministry will champion active global engagement, advocating for developed countries to fulfil their obligations, he said.
“Additionally, we will mobilise climate finance from diverse sources and channels to support our initiatives.”
It is imperative that global emissions are reduced and that financial, technological and capacity-building support is provided in line with international commitments.
Duale said over 400 million trees have been planted under the National Landscape and Ecosystem Restoration Strategy.
All grabbed forest land will be recovered and the ministry will focus on conserving and protecting 2.6 million hectares of public forests through social and physical fencing, he said.
The CS also committed to ensuring the proper management of solid waste, saying the country has laws and regulations that need to be implemented and enforced.
He outlined significant strides that have been made under the leadership of Tuya.
“The Nationally Determined Contributions and other strategies have propelled us forward in promoting renewable energy, advancing tree planting initiatives and strengthening climate resilience. These achievements have laid a solid foundation for continued progress,” Duale said.
The ministry will continue to strengthen the climate action agenda, promote green growth and ensure sustainable natural resource management.
Tuya urged Duale to elevate the Jaza Miti app to the level of Directorate of Resource Surveys and Remote Sensing.
She said the move will advance the tool and enable the app to capture high-resolution images of restoration efforts.
The JazaMiti app is a mobile application that allows users to select suitable tree species for planting based on their location.
It facilitates the documenting, tracking and monitoring of the growth of trees over time.
JazaMiti aims to aid in Kenya’s vision of planting 15 billion trees in 10 years to fight climate change.
The app is domiciled at the Kenya Forestry Research Institute.