Nairobi, (Samajweekly) Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has reiterated his government’s commitment in advancing the Africa’s agenda at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), particularly on climate change and security.
“Listen to us Africans when we tell you that the link is clear, its impact tangible, and the need for solutions urgent,” Kenyatta said during a virtual UNSC open debate on the nexus between climate and security.
He warned that the UNSC’s mandate of maintaining global peace and security will become harder in the coming years if the threat of climate change is not addressed adequately, Xinhua reported.
In a statement issued after the meeting, Kenyatta rallied the UNSC to support more mitigation and adaptation measures in Africa, saying the 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,” he said.
“The result is increased fragility to instability and armed conflict that then come to the attention of this Security Council,” the President added.
Noting that Africa will suffer the worst consequences of climate change, he told the UNSC to make the continent a top priority in its climate and security strategies.
“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,” he said.
Meanwhile, Kenyatta has identified climate, biodiversity and nature, as well as pollution and waste management as the three planetary crises that threaten the world’s future.
