When Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in present-day Israel, wise men from the East brought him precious gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And on Saturday, Christians and non-Christians alike marked His birthday with colour and pomp.
The birth of Jesus symbolised redemption of humanity in the verge of eternal destruction occasioned by the disobedience by Adam and Eve at the Garden of Eden as recorded in the Bible.
Despite the eternal redemption of humanity, other challenges continue to cause death and suffering of the human beings — among them climate change.
This is a global and local threat to humanity and continues to pose survival threat to humans, animals and vegetation and has caused loss of lives and livelihoods. As Nobel laureate Professor Wangari Maathai said, Mother Nature is unforgiving when provoked. And over the past few months, Kenya has witnessed her fury for our negligence.
Delayed October-December rains countrywide, livestock deaths in northern parts of the country and crop failure across the country’s bread basket are among the evidence of that fury. This phenomenon calls for decisive actions by all stakeholders to combat the effects of climate change at all levels.
Its persistence has seen many forums held on global, regional and national platforms. The Paris Agreement, adopted by 196 parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at the COP 21 conference on December 12, 2015, set out four articulate steps that emphasise on the processes rather than goals.
Unlike the Kyoto Protocol, which had specific emission targets, this framework relies on voluntary mitigation contributions by member states. The Paris deal set a global warming goal of under two degrees Celcius, requireing parties to formulate progressively more ambitious climate change targets consistent with it. It binds them to contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation.
A party to the UNFCCC, Kenya enacted the Climate Change Act 2016 in an effort to curb the effects of changing climatic conditions.
The law provides opportunities for social entrepreneurs working on climate change-related issues to have their voice heard. It also makes prosecution of climate change-related offences possible.
Besides, the Act envisages a climate change fund and incentives to innovations geared towards climate change adaptation and mitigation. The Act is a bold step in the right direction for present and future generations.
Despite Kenya having received below-average rainfall for the past one month, the rains provide a conducive environment for vegetation growth.
During this festive season, when families reunite in merry-making and fanfare, people will look for gifts to give to their loved ones. If every one of the 48 million Kenyans gave a tree seedling as a Christmas gift, future generations would be safe, our environment more habitable and Mother Nature happy. BY DAILY NATION