Kenya has affirmed its commitment to implementing the global climate change adaptation initiatives.
President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday said just like the current Covid-19 pandemic, climate change is a reality that the world must confront urgently.
He said as a result, there is a need for concerted global efforts in addressing climate change.
“Kenya commits to implement the adaptation action agenda but we can only succeed if we all as a global community collaborate in this noble endeavour,” he said.
The head of state spoke on Monday evening at State House, Nairobi during a virtual high-level session of the Climate Adaptation Summit 2021.
Uhuru emphasised that by pulling together the world will emerge stronger and more resilient from the dangers posed by climate change.
“Indeed, we can expect to reap the triple dividends of reducing emissions, spurring economic growth and delivering social and environmental benefits,” he said.
As he implored world leaders to rally behind efforts to upscale climate adaptation efforts, Uhuru identified agriculture as a top priority in Africa's climate change adaptation agenda saying a large percentage of the continent's population rely on the sector for its survival.
The President said African farmers must be given the tools, information and financial support to enable them to embrace sustainable agricultural practices, respond to changing weather patterns and maximise productivity of their farms
He said Kenya has upscaled its climate change adaptation efforts by mainstreaming the subject into its national development strategies.
"Kenya is already experiencing the multi-fold climate impacts, including erratic rainfall, droughts and increased temperatures," he said.
He added, "To contain this situation, we have scaled up our adaptation efforts; mainstreaming it into our national development strategy".
The leaders who spoke during the summit were unanimous in their call for acceleration of climate adaptation efforts so as to safeguard communities from the harmful impacts of a changing climate.
Among them was British Prime Ministers Boris Johnson, India's Narendra Modi (India), Evelyn Wever-Croes (Aruba) as well as United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and his predecessor Ban Ki-Moon.
The meeting was hosted by Prime Minister Mark Rutte of The Netherlands.