East African Civil Societies petition EAC on climate change.

 Members of Civil Societies from East Africa led by the Program Manager of
Uganda Coalition for sustainable Development Richard Kimbowa addressing a press conference in Kisumu on presenting  their petition to the East African Community on climate change-Photo By Dickson Odhiambo.

By Dickson Odhiambo

 November 29, 2018.

 East African Civil Societies petition EAC on climate change.

A NUMBER of civil societies within East Africa have petitioned the East African Community on climate change.

The civil societies include East African Sustainability watch, sustainability watch Kenya, Uganda Coalition for sustainable Development, Tatedo Center for Sustainable Energy services in Tanzania, Infosay East Africa, Devolution and Climate Change adaption in Western Kenya.

Through the Program Manager for the Uganda Coalition for Sustainable Development Richard Kimbowa, the Civil Societies say the petition has a background that the Intergovernmental Pan on Climate Change{IPCC} which is a special report that was released in October this year already saying that the effects of Global warming is real including in areas like East Africa.

Addressing the press in Kisumu during the Devolution and Climate Change Adaptation in Western Kenya Program Climate March 2018, the Civil Societies say in East Africa there are effects of El Nino Rains, droughts that not only affects East Africa but also even the other parts of the world.

They say in East Africa Climate Change is derailing the efforts towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals as well as achieving efforts to reduce poverty.

“Climate change related factors are already ranked high in East Africa as one of the major threats confronting the region in form of warmer weather , environmental degradation due to soil erosion, food insecurity and diseases outbreaks,” they say.

The civil societies says the East African Community needs to incorporate the provisions of the Paris Agreement on climate change that was signed a few years that came up with climate change policy which is under revision , adding that the proposed EAC Climate change law should strengthen climate action in the region.

“We know that the EAC has adopted a roadmap   but then how to approach the implementation of this roadmap is the issue,” they add.

The six issues issue the Civil societies wants the East African Community address in terms of climate change include incorporating gender equality and women empowerment in all regional climate change discourse and actions starting with the gender action plan from the Paris agreement, promotion of civil societies and private sector participation on issues of climate change.

They says other issues include the inclusion vulnerable groups on the issues of climate change as well as tracking and monitoring as well as evaluating the issues of climate change in East Africa region.

“In 2023, the Paris Agreement provides a five year period to look into how countries are performing on issues of climate change and this will only be possible if there a very robust  monitoring and evaluating mechanism that can enable us to report back as EAC,”  they add.

They say the fifth issue is about calling for mechanisms to integrate climate actions in all planned regional wide micro investments.

“The previous Climate change policy implementation has remained unimplemented largely because we have been looking at it as if it can be implemented in one day,” they further say.

The sixth issue is to call on the parties in the EAC to be part of the least developing countries efforts that is striving to formulate and communicate low emission development strategies that should be summited by the year 2020 according the Paris Agreement.

“As a region we need to move on the same pace as far as the issue of Climate change is concerned,” they add.

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