Cutting trees and public consultations in Kenya during COVID-19
Welcome to Climate Weekly!
Each week we ask one guest writer from our network to give you a short selection of some of the best climate news from their region.
This week, we reached out to Dominic Kirui, a freelance journalist from Nairobi who shares some of the local shifts he’s seen in public consultations since the Coronavirus began
Jambo!
My name is Dominic Kirui. I’m writing this about five minutes drive from the Nairobi National Park where, if I wasn’t tied to my laptop, I might even be able to spot a rhino!
But I should warn you, if you’re not planning a trip to Nairobi soon, you might miss out. The government is rapidly encroaching into the park area, first through a Chinese funded and constructed railway across the park, and a road alongside it. They are now also planning a hotel within the black rhino breeding area. You might remember, sadly the last white rhino died in Kenya only a few months ago.
As we have seen in many countries, there is widely held concern that the government took advantage of the Coronavirus outbreak to fast track these approvals without proper public consultation. At the same time, they’re clearing iconic green space (see the photo above) in the city for new 27km expressway, regardless of the calls to stop the destruction.
However, the hottest topic in Kenya right now may be a pre-curser to the future of the world’s plastic industry. The American Chemistry Council and the Kenyan Ministry of Trade and Industry are said to be working on a deal that may see Kenya lift its globally celebrated ban on plastic bags, allowing American companies to ship plastic waste into Africa through Kenya.
When the global climate strikes hit Nairobi last week, this was one of their most vocal demands. The activists headed to the Freedom corner at Uhuru Park in Nairobi, once famously protected by the late Wangari Maathai and coordinated under the hashtag #AfricaIsNotADumpster
Outside Nairobi, our coffee farmers are feeling the impacts of climate stress, and some are even looking to abandon coffee farming for avocados, due to shifting conditions.
This may be one of the reasons why Amina Mohamed has been nominated as Kenya’s candidate in the running to become the next Director General of the World Trade Organization. She promised to focus on climate change if selected, and at a media briefing last month queried, “How is it possible that the WTO does not discuss climate change?... (the) WTO must be a part of the global conversation on climate change.”
Across border, I’ve also been impressed by the Ugandan climate justice activist, Vanessa Nakate, who is leading a campaign against her government's decision to substitute about 411sq km of Bugoma Forest for sugarcane plantation. Check out #SaveBugomaForest to find out how you can get involved.
From Climate Tracker
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Want to know what we actually do when we mentor journalists?? Here’s a great little reflection from Francisco Parra, on his journey supporting Bolivian climate reporters.
What we’re reading
The £50m ($65 million USD) Earthshot Prize was announced yesterday with 5 different solutions set to be awarded each year until 2030. It was launched by David Attenborough and Prince William, but is backed by celebrity “members” such as Shakira, Cate Blanchett, Dani Alves, and for basketball fans, Yao Ming.
If have followed Sudan’s political shifts and recent floods over the last few months, you might be interested in this Op-ed from Kholood Khair highlighting the sustainable opportunities that may lie in the future.
While I expect China’s 2060 neutrality pledge to inject an adrenaline shot into global environmental politics, it seems that at home they are resurrecting a fiercely contested and seismically large Yangze river Dam project.
It was a big week for Banks. JP Morgan committed to net zero by 2050, and today, Europe’s biggest bank, HSBC committed to net zero across all their financing by 2050 also. As one of the biggest financiers of deforestation across Borneo, it will be critical to see how fast they begin reigning in their investments.
Cartoon of the Week
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