Global Journal of Science Frontier Research, H: Environment & Earth Science, Volume 23 Issue 1

Local Actions Roadmap for Climate Change Alleviation in Africa Mary Mbenge α & Makueni County σ I. I ntroduction ithout doubt, weather patterns are drastically changing. And for the worse. Those aged 70 and above, as opposed to younger generations, can attest to this climate anomaly. These occurrences usually lead to famines, hunger, poor nutrition, disease, wildfires, deforestation, displacement of people and migration, human-wildlife conflict, air pollution, competition for water and pasture, loss of livestock, soil erosion, locust invasions, loss of biodiversity, deprivation of livelihoods, etc. Majority of our citizens acknowledge that something awry is happening to their habitat, but are unable to comprehend this phenomenon which commenced in the 1800s especially with the onset of industrialization. Climate change terminology is thus of recent origin. I remember once, the former Makueni County Governor, Prof. Kivutha Kibwana; an ardent environmentalist who in 2006 served as the minister for Environment and natural resources and myself struggled to find a name for climate change in the local dialect. We ended up describing the causes of climate change rather than coming up with a specific name. Finally, we translated the Kiswahili phrase ‘ mabadiliko ya tabia nchi’ into ‘ mawaliuku ma mwikalile wa nthi’ to arrive at the Kiikamba name for climate change. According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC, 1992) “climate change means a change of climate which is caused directly or indirectly by human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is, in addition to natural climate variability, observed over comparable time periods.” a) How Then Does Climate Change Occur? Industrialization and other anthropogenic activities produce carbon dioxide related green-house gas emissions. Examples of these actions are: reduction of green spaces to pave way for farming, use of fossil Author α : e-mail: mbengelensis@gmail.com fuels for transportation and energy production, biological waste disposed in landfills, deforestation, charcoal burning etc. These increase the earth’s temperatures resulting in global warming. Global warming of the planet began to be seriously addressed through the UNFCCC. The 1992 convention recognizes that human activities have substantially increased the atmospheric concentrations of green-house gases, leading to warming of the earth’s surface and atmosphere, which may adversely affect natural ecosystems and mankind. The instrument also notes that the developed industrial countries bear the largest responsibility for green-house gas emissions, whereas the most affected by climate change are the developing poor nations. The UNFCCC affirms that to combat climate change, co-operation between states is essential and therefore although each country has “the sovereign right to exploit their own resources pursuant to their own environmental and developmental policies,” every country has simultaneously “the responsibility to ensure that activities within their jurisdiction or control do not cause damage to the environment of other states or of areas beyond limits of national jurisdiction.” From 1995, annual Conference of Parties (COP) have been held to: evaluate progress in dealing with climate change; negotiate the Kyoto Protocol (1997) to establish legally binding obligations for developed countries to reduce their green-house gas emissions; discuss the Paris Agreement (2015) as part of the Durban platform (2011), which created a pathway towards climate action. In COP 26 in Glasgow, delegates resolved that member states should further strengthen reduction of their carbon emissions, support vulnerable countries with green finance and technology, and assist local communities to build more resilience so as to abate the climate crisis. Although significant progress has been made in the battle against climate change, there is still a lingering controversy on whether climate change is real or a hoax, and who should shoulder responsibility for addressing and funding the climate emergency. Currently the climate calamity is perceived as any major global problem of the past and present such as the world wars, nuclear war threat, HIV&AIDs and the more recent COVID-19 pandemics. W 1 Year 2023 53 © 2023 Global Journals Global Journal of Science Frontier Research Volume XXIII Issue ersion I VI ( H )