The National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) has called on president Uhuru Kenyatta to urgently assent to the Climate Change Bill 2014, that was recently passed by the National Assembly.
The bill seeks to among other things, create a Climate Change Council that will be charged with the responsibility of advising the government and the public, on adapting and mitigating climate change. The proposed law comes in the wake of prolonged drought in some parts of the country which often leave many Kenyans at the brink of starvation.
Experts now agree that the prevailing conditions of a place could have adverse effects on the climate change. Globally, very cold regions like the Iceland are now becoming warmer than they were decades ago, thanks to climate change.
Here in Kenya, high potential areas like Meru, which never experienced rainfall failure, are now faced with drought as a result of changes in climatic condition.
Speaking during the NCCK Programme Committee Meeting in Limuru, NCCK General Secretary, Reverend Canon Peter Karanja concurred that climate Change was now a reality and a challenge to our country. He called for the enactment of proper legislation to pre-empt adverse effects of climate change. He added that climate change was a global phenomenon that must be addressed by all stakeholders.
Speaking at the same forum, Mr Mithika Mwenda- Secretary General for Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA)- drew the attention of participants to effects of climate change that included erratic and destructive rainfall patterns; persistent droughts; vanishing glaciers on Mt. Kenya & Mt. Kilimanjaro; increased disease occurrences; Tsunamis and floods and heavy torrential rains like Elnino. Mithika called on the church to proactively participate in the formulation and implementation of climate change policies and programs at the county and national Levels.
The Kenyan government has ratified international agreements such as the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCC) as well as domesticating some strategies into the National Climate Change Response Strategy and National Climate Change Action Plan.
Climate change-related matters in Kenya have in the past been handled by a small unit of experts from different government ministries, now under the ministry of Environment, Water and Natural Resource Management.
Key provisions of the National Climate Change Bill include:
- A framework of mitigation and adaptation on the effects of climate change on all sectors of the economy and levels of governance
- Mechanisms for coordination and governance on matters relating to climate change.
- Coordinating mechanisms for the formulation of programmes and plans to enhance resilience of human and ecological systems against the impact of climate change;
- Mainstreaming of the Principle of sustainable development in the planning for and on climate change response and strategy;
- Promotion of social and economic measures in climate change responses to support sustainable human development;
