By: John Kariuki
Kenya’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) could shrink by 2.6 percent by 2030 due to climate shocks, according Environment Principal Secretary Festus Ngeno.
Ngeno emphasized that climate change is no longer a distant threat but an urgent reality.
The 2022 National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) report revealed that over 5 million Kenyans were impacted by drought, highlighting the severity of the crisis.
In a speech delivered on his behalf by John Elungata during the 3rd IGAD CLIMSA meeting in Nairobi, the PS stressed the importance of a robust climate resilience strategy to anticipate and mitigate climate hazards, ensuring the protection of livelihoods.
Kenya has adopted comprehensive climate information systems and early warning mechanisms across critical sectors like agriculture, water, health, and disaster risk management.
Additionally, the installation of automatic weather stations is improving the accuracy of climate data, enabling informed decision-making and enhancing disaster risk preparedness.
These climate resilience initiatives aim to reduce disaster risks while safeguarding Kenya’s development under the Vision 2030 blueprint.
This comes after the whole world has put its focus on the whole dilemma of climate change and crafted tangible and evidence-based mitigation measures which include adaptation, creating resilience and empowering counter measures to fight the climate change.
