Climate Change: 11 actions African judiciaries will take to make polluters pay

Judiciaries from 32 African countries have resolved  to "do what needs to be done" to make polluters accountable for their actions. Their resolve includes 11 actions they will take in playing their role in combating climate change. The judiciaries made the resolve at a three-day symposium held in Nairobi, themed 'Strengthening the Role of Judiciaries in Addressing Climate Change in Africa'. President William Ruto graced the symposium, the third of its kind on Greening Judiciaries. The judiciaries adopted proposals based on the 'polluters pay' principle, which obligates the world’s biggest emitters to take responsibility for their actions. The event held this week also incorporated the 3rd Chief Justices Forum on Environmental Law and the 3rd General Conference of the Africa Judicial Education Network on Environmental Law (AJENEL). Formerly known as the 1992 Rio Declaration, the ‘polluter pays’ principle is a commonly accepted practice that those who produce pollution should bear the costs of managing it to prevent damage to human health or the environment. Chief Justice Martha Koome, like other international speakers, stressed the need to figure out how to quantify loss and damage, thereby ensuring justice when pollution occurs. An official joint communiqué of the symposium by chief justices, deputy chief justices, presidents and judges of apex and regional courts, judges, magistrates, heads of tribunals, directors of judiciary training institutes, and other judicial delegations of AJENEL was issued on Wednesday. Known as the 'Nairobi Communique', it says the judicians have committed to these 11 proposals: