Focus on food security, climate change, Wathuti urges presidential hopefuls
Kenyan climate and environmental activist Elizabeth Wathuti at the World Economic Forum ‘Davos 2022’ in Davos, Switzerland on Wednesday.
Food security, the environment and the climate change crisis should be top priorities for Kenya’s 2022 presidential candidates, a young Kenyan climate activist has said at a meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
Speaking to a high-level panel of climate leaders that included US envoy John Kerry and his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua during a discussion on climate action at Davos 2022 in Switzerland, Elizabeth Wathuti, 26, said Kenya is suffering from climate change, citing the prolonged drought in the country’s northeastern region.
She described it as a crisis impacting nearly every sector of the economy, saying bold leadership is needed to turn things around.
“Right now, almost three million of my fellow Kenyans – and more than 20 million people in neighbouring countries across the Horn of Africa – are facing extreme hunger due to a record-breaking drought that has seen consecutive rainy seasons fail,” she said.
“The war in Ukraine is now exacerbating these already terrifying levels of food insecurity.”
She mentioned a trip she had made to Wajir recently, saying that she saw “a deeply shocking example of the suffering that the interconnected climate, nature and food crises are already bringing to bear across the African continent: dead and dying livestock; decimated wildlife; hungry and desperate people who are losing hope for their future”.
She said the humanitarian crisis had worsened in the past year.
“The reality of climate change is here and getting worse, because we are not taking the clear and concrete steps science tells us we need to in order to turn things around,” she said.
“We know we must break our deadly reliance on fossil fuels and invest massively in a clean energy future and energy access for all. We know we must transform our global food system, and protect and restore Earth’s ecosystems.”
Climate matters
She urged presidential candidates to speak out on environmental and climate matters. “Addressing food, the right to food, nature and the climate crisis should be a top priority in their manifestos because this is about people’s lives and livelihoods,” she said.
Royal DSM co-chief executive Geraldine Matchett, who was on the panel, agreed, laying out a worrying reality.
26-year-old Kenyan climate and environmental activist Elizabeth Wathuti during a global panel discussion on climate action alongside US and Chinese Special Envoys John Kerry and Xie Zhenhua and other experts at the World Economic Forum ‘Davos 2022’ in Davos, Switzerland.
"There is a food crisis as we speak. The current global food system can reasonably feed three billion people, three billion more struggle to feed themselves, while up to one billion face real undernourishment,” said Ms Matchett, whose company deals in health and nutrition.
“The reality is that this inadequate and unsustainable food system is worsening climate change, while climate change, in turn, will decimate our food system."
Mr Kerry, who played a critical role in convincing global leaders to push for stronger climate action, did not mince his words about what needs to be done.
"Emissions went up in 2021 by six percent while coal usage expanded by nine percent. This is unacceptable as we realise that countries are concerned over energy security but we can't jeopardise the planet by investing in legacy fossil fuel projects that will cause irreparable damage,” he said.
Paris Agreement
“For at least the next eight years, we must radically change our economic system and our reliance on fossil fuels if we're to stay aligned to Paris Agreement targets. This is the real battle of our time."
Speaking to the Nation, Ms Wathuti said her message to world leaders ahead of the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference or COP27 to be held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, later this year, is the same.
“Open your hearts to feel the immense suffering that our way of doing things is causing, then act at the scale and speed needed to turn things around because this is not just a moment for compassion, it is a moment for action and reform because what we will gain by solving the food, nature and climate crises together will be improved human health, security and well-being everywhere,” she said.
She said scientific knowledge and technology are available to resolve these problems and “the solutions to them lie in the human head, heart and mind”.
She added: “To do so, we will need to change our way of thinking and start telling new stories about what is important and what is possible.”
Speaking for future generations and the planet's most vulnerable people, Ms Wathuti said: "Political action and technology may help, yes, but what we really need is a change in our relationship toward our planet and its people.
“When we reshape our economic systems, we must be respectful to all life on earth and compassion must play a central part in our decisions."
