As the word begins the count down to the United Nations Climate change summit in Egypt this November (COP27), the agreements of COP26 should be faced and implemented so that they don’t come back haunting us.
Emissions of greenhouse gases must be cut in half by 2030 and to zero by 2050 if a livable world is to be preserved. Governments must take bold, swift, and comprehensive action aimed at providing an enabling environment for private sector to thrive in the era of climate change.
However, the participation of private sector will be necessary for the transition to a low-carbon society in both the advanced economies as well as the developing countries, Kenya included.
More ambitious goals must be set immediately to achieve the required emission reductions; otherwise, predictions are that company emissions will end up being triple what they should be in 2050.
COP 26 was accomplished and it remains commitment based. Soon we are getting to COP27 in Egypt where we expect even more commitments towards our climate safeguarding. Adaptations, which is ways of dealing with the impact of climate change, will definitely take the centre stage in the discussions.
This means corporate commitments at the global and the local level will need to happen and especially so from a financing perspective. A lot of voices are expected as we saw in COP 26 but this time hopefully with more concrete commitment and an articulate way forward on achieving the commitments.
one of the biggest challenges we have, particularly since the industrial revolution, is climate change. If we are to stay longer on this planet, we need to change the dynamics and how we operate our businesses.
Even at an individual level, we need to change our consumption and production in line with a low carbon scenario if we are to succeed in proving a better planet to future generations.
In October last year, KCIC Consulting led corporates in the country in making climate change commitments during the Corporate Commitment to Climate Change (4C-K) conference. The conference’s main aim was to encourage corporate to commit to ways that will help mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change and help propel climate action.
The private sector was urged to prioritise adaptation measures in order to reduce the susceptibility of natural and human systems to the current and future impacts of climate. Through adaptation, the corporate environment can be prepared to respond appropriately to any consequences brought on by climate change.
Kenya requires Sh600 billion on an annual basis for the next eight years if we are to keep to our commitments under the Paris agreement. 80 percent of this funding is required for adaptation measures and the balance of 20 percent is required for mitigation purposes.
The private sector will be required to provide over 75 percent of the required funding which clearly forms an opportunity for the finance sector, both locally and internationally.
Companies need to consider mitigation activities which will include working on the use of renewables and the enhancement of energy and resource efficiency.
Efforts toward achieving a tree cover of at least 10 percent of the land area of Kenya, low carbon and efficient transportation systems and climate-smart agriculture (CSA) are also aligned in helping Kenya to achieve it commitments in line with Paris Agreement.
From the adaptation front, there is need to consider the enhancement of the uptake of adaptation technology especially among women, youth and other vulnerable groups, while incorporating scientific and indigenous knowledge; developing tools for adaptation monitoring, and packaging and dissemination climate information to be used in decision making and planning across companies.
For the private sector, the question is not whether it’s too late, but the question should be what can be done. Corporates should know that it is not done yet, but there is hope.
There is also a great need to watch their carbon footprint as part of the climate action. Each corporate should be in a position to tell its carbon footprint and provide clear measures on how they will head towards the reduction of the same.
In the recent past, we have seen more and more companies committing to net zero, which is a way of completely negating the amount of greenhouse gases produced by a company, to be achieved by reducing emissions and implementing methods of absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
These commitments need to base on some baseline and unfortunately many of the companies committing to net zero are not conversant with the requirements as well as the needed tools and action to achieve the commitments.
To encourage sustainable green growth, governments must implement a comprehensive strategy for working with the private sector on climate change. Supporting policies that promote climate change adaptation and mitigation should be part of the strategy, as should be in creating an environment where private climate investments may be made with the limited public monies available to do so.
