Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has challenged fellow world leaders to pursue climate change adaptation and mitigation measures that secure people’s livelihoods and expand economic opportunities.
He said sustainable climate action is largely about people and their livelihoods adding that no one should be left behind in efforts to combat climate change.
Mr. Kenyatta spoke at the UN Climate Change Summit and said Kenya is fully committed to the fight against climate change.
“Our commitment to tackling climate change is deep and arises out of the need to secure our future and that of our children as we have been victims of droughts and declining rainfall which have destroyed our lives and livelihoods and which calls for an increasing requirement of public resources to address emergencies and disasters,” the President said.
He said Kenya has taken deliberate steps towards meeting its international climate obligations in sectors such as energy, environment and the blue economy.
“In energy, we have transitioned our energy sources to renewable to the tune of 90%.
“I recently inaugurated our largest wind power farm on the continent at Lake Turkana and we shall continue to prioritize our energy developments from geothermal and other natural sources.”
President Kenyatta said renewable sources have enabled Kenya to expand electricity connectivity from less than 30% in 2013 to 75% over the last 6 years.
As much as forestry is concerned, Kenyatta said Kenya aims to plant 2 billion trees to achieve the global threshold of 10% tree cover by 2022.
“This is in addition to the global commitment to restore 5.1 million hectares as our national contribution to the African Forest and Landscape Restoration Initiative,” Kenyatta said.
