Feb 24th 2021- President Uhuru Kenyatta has reiterated Kenya’s strong commitment to advancing Africa’s agenda at UN Security Council especially on matters of climate change and security on the continent.
At the same time, the President rallied the Security Council to support more mitigation and adaptation measures in Africa saying effects of climate change are having adverse socioeconomic impacts on the continent.
“As a start, we can recognize that persistent droughts, constant sea level rises, and increasingly frequent extreme weather patterns are reversing economic growth and development gains achieved over decades. The result is increased fragility to instability and armed conflict that then come to the attention of this Security Council,” the President said.
President Kenyatta warned that the Security Council’s mandate of maintaining global peace and security will become harder in coming years if the threat of climate change is not addressed adequately.
“Rather than wait for a future tipping point, we must redouble the efforts to direct all the resources and multilateral frameworks of our rules-based international order to mitigate the effects of climate change,” President Kenyatta said.
The President spoke Tuesday evening at State House, Nairobi during a virtual UN Security Council open debate hosted by the United Kingdom on the nexus between climate and security.
President Kenyatta said Africa will suffer the worst consequences of climate change and told the Security Council to make the continent a top priority in its climate and security strategies.
“Listen to us Africans when we tell you that the link is clear, its impact tangible, and the need for solutions urgent.
Africa unfortunately will suffer the worst consequences of climate change despite being the least responsible for global greenhouse gas emissions,” he said.