By Mary Mwendwa
Nairobi, Kenya: On 22nd July 2023 Climate Clock Kenya team joined the world in recognizing Climate Emergency Day, the purpose of Climate Emergency Day is to raise awareness about the urgency of addressing climate change and to emphasize the need for immediate action. These initiatives aim to galvanize public attention, engage communities, and mobilize individuals, businesses, and policymakers to take significant steps to combat climate change.
The Climate Clock will tick down 6 years for the first time. Meaning, we will have less than 6 years to dramatically reduce fossil fuel emissions to stay below 1.5C degrees warming.
The world is facing an unprecedented climate emergency, with rising temperatures, extreme weather events, melting ice caps, and sea-level rise threatening ecosystems and human livelihoods. Climate change impacts are felt in every corner of the globe, affecting vulnerable communities and biodiversity alike.
Climate Clock acknowledges the importance of collective responsibility and immediate action to combat climate change. On this significant day, we reaffirm our commitment to sustainable practices, environmental stewardship, and supporting the global efforts to limit global warming and its devastating consequences.
We hope that you join us in sending the world an urgent message – that the world has a single Deadline – a critical time window left to avert the worst impacts of Climate Change – but that many Lifelines still exist – solutions available to both governments and industry.
Our shared aim is clear: We must shorten the global timeline for climate action to be in line with what the science demands, and increase the level of transformative action Kenya undertakes. In short, we must do more, in less time. Together, we believe the Climate Clock can help achieve that. The safety and health of all coming generations is at stake.
Call to Action
- We, therefore, call for urgency and recognition of the severity of the climate emergency and demand policymakers and businesses take responsibility for their role in contributing to it.
- We Urge policymakers to implement measures that enhance climate resilience and adaptation, particularly for vulnerable communities and ecosystems.
We equally encourage businesses to integrate climate risk assessments into their operations and supply chains, fostering adaptation strategies.
- We Demand that businesses eliminate deforestation from their supply chains and commit to sourcing products sustainably.
We also Call on the government of Kenya to enact and enforce legislation to protect and restore biodiversity and critical ecosystems like the forests, we therefore, strongly discourage the lifting of the ban on logging by the state.
Climate Delay equals Climate Denial!
