Vulnerable communities continue to grapple with the accelerating impacts of climate change, especially in Africa despite its low contributions to greenhouse gases. Several efforts have been put in place to help mitigate and also enable these communities to adapt to these impacts ...

As world leaders gather at COP29 to chart a path toward a sustainable future, the need to address the health impacts of climate change has become increasingly urgent. One of the conference’s key discussions—phasing out fossil fuels—underscores how closely intertwined climate and ...

The climate crisis is no longer a distant threat; it is here, disproportionately affecting rural communities worldwide. Prolonged droughts, deadly floods, rising heatwaves, melting glaciers, hunger, and warming oceans are reshaping the lives of those who form the backbone of food...

The significance of the climate change challenge is once again grabbing global attention with African leaders taking a joint message to an international conference. This is the COP29 gathering in Azerbaijan’s capital city, Baku. It began with the African leaders pushing for clima...

Kenya stands at a unique crossroads where its cultural heritage and natural environment converge to form a potent force in global climate change diplomacy. With climate-related challenges becoming more severe across Africa, infusing traditional cultural wisdom into climate adapta...

The reality of climate change is affecting ever more people worldwide, and its effects are no longer distant threats — they are felt across every continent and in nearly every community. The year 2023 was declared the hottest year on record by a clear margin, with extreme weather...

Marrieta Mwikali is preparing her half-acre land for the next planting season ahead of the anticipated short rains season. The Kenya Meteorological Department (KMD) expected the onset of the short rains season to occur between the fourth week of October and the first week of Nove...

Season two of the Trump administration is here, and the main cast –Donald J Trump, who is known for downplaying the urgency of tackling the climate crisis, is making a come-back in a year poised to be the warmest ever. His win comes just a few days before the biggest climate conf...

Catastrophic flooding. The worst drought in 40 years. A tropical cyclone causing a scare, of all places, in Kenya. Over the years, the impacts of climate change have been accelerating, and according to a new report by the World Weather Attribution (WWA), the severity has led to m...

Climate literacy is essential to addressing the pressing challenges posed by the climate crisis. It encompasses an understanding of how the climate system operates, the influence of human actions on climate and the reciprocal effects of climate on society. As climate change conti...

A  satellite search for Lambwe Valley in Homa Bay County reveals stunning images of a vibrant ecosystem teeming with diverse plant and animal life. Some of these images showcase wildlife in Ruma National Park, while others depict lush landscapes, rolling hills, and expansive tree...

As prolonged dry spells ravage the rural landscape of Melili, Narok County, Kenya, Esther Supuko's life has taken a challenging turn. Once reliant on her husband to manage their livestock, Esther now finds herself herding calves and weakened animals while he ventures further afie...

Climate change, in most countries, still hasn’t found its way to the centre of political discourse. It lingers on the sidelines, even though it is a threat that affects every policy decision we make today. We need to start treating climate change as the political issue that it tr...

In the far right corner of Florence  Kawira’s kitchen, half-hidden beneath a peeling cupboard stands a weathered plastic bottle. Its once-bright label has long since faded into a murky, brownish hue, the plastic itself warped and cracked from years of handling. It's been there as...

As climate change accelerates, the futures of millions of children in vulnerable regions hang in the balance. Almost half of the world’s children grow up in areas facing severe environmental challenges, threatening not only their well-being but also the very fabric of society. Ch...

The interplay between climate change, peace and security is profoundly intricate. While climate change exacerbates risks to peace and stability, insecurity makes adaptation to climate-induced impacts even more difficult. What was once seen as natural fluctuations in temperature a...

Unlike bears who hibernate in extremely frosty conditions –Joys Kimani prefers the cold to sweltering weather. “I thrive in the cold,” she tells theHealthy Nation. Her aversive relationship with the heat is not because of mere preference, but because of the undesirable impact ext...

“Science is clear. Drought, heatwaves and floods are our new reality,” says Patricia Nying’uro, a climate scientist with the Kenya Meteorological Department.  Her voice is firm as an attentive audience hangs onto her words. The scientist is presenting a Also read:  Patricia, who ...

For the first time in decades, farmers in Ndaragua, Nyandarua County, are expecting a bumper harvest, thanks to favourable climate conditions. But this blessing has brought a unique challenge. There is a surge in giant rodents invading farms and homes, raising concerns among resi...

Climate change is often framed as an environmental issue, a challenge for scientists and ecologists to solve. While this is undoubtedly true, it is increasingly evident that climate change is fundamentally a justice problem. It is a problem of equity, fairness, and unequal distri...

Climate change or global warming effects are the current world leaders’ headache. Every leader of a nation is feeling the effects of interference with Mother Nature, the trees that serve as the lungs of the universe and as infrastructure that have taken billions to build are dest...

An overwhelming 88 per cent of Kenyans are calling for the country to bolster its efforts in tackling climate change, according to a recent survey conducted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The survey dubbed ‘The People's Climate Vote 2024’ shows that over half...

In the last few weeks, sadly more than 100 people have died from oppressive heat in India. In Africa, while some countries are experiencing torrential rains, others are suffering from terrible droughts. At the recent Commonwealth Health Ministers Meeting in Geneva, collectively w...

In 1896, Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenius definitively predicted that changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels would substantially alter the surface temperature through the greenhouse effect. Later, in 1938, Guy Callendar firmly established the connection between carbon dio...

Kenya, Egypt and Uganda have jointly developed an imaging system that will be hosted at the International Space Station (ISS) for monitoring climate change, the government says. The move is part of Kenya’s ambitious plan to use space technologies to enable environmental monitorin...

One and a half years after its establishment at COP27 in Egypt, the Sharm el-Sheikh Joint Work on Agriculture and Food Security has finally agreed on a roadmap for discussions on agriculture and food security in future climate negotiations. During the recently concluded climate n...

The dust will soon settle on what has been one of Kenya’s worst flooding disasters. The dust should not settle, but it will, because our collective national amnesia and myopia will see to it. We will forget, then get something else to preoccupy ourselves with temporarily. The rec...

As experts gather in Bonn for the latest round of climate negotiations, there is a palpable sense of urgency and frustration. Over the past thirty years, these international climate talks have aimed to tackle the worsening environmental crisis. However, many maintain that there h...

The term ‘climate change’ has become part and parcel of our day-to-day conversation, particularly due to the frequent occurrence of unusual and extreme weather patterns. Recent events, such as the devastating heavy rains and flooding in Kenya and the broader East African region, ...

The last time David Rudisha made the headlines in the Swiss and Scandinavian regions was during his rise to record-breaking form as a track athlete. Sweden catapulted him from world junior champion to his eventual, enviable achievement as world record holder. Rudisha dominated 80...

Countries in the East Africa region are reeling from devastating floods that swept through during this March-May rain season. The season, commonly known as the long rains season because it typically brings the region's highest annual rainfall, turned into a disaster with torrenti...

Periods, like taxes, come monthly and unfailingly and are met with a mixture of resignation and irritation. Yet, while taxes are grudgingly accepted as a civic duty, periods remain shrouded in stigma, and managing them depends on how deep your pockets go. As with the climate cris...

By Ann Amollo Green energy comes from natural sources that are clean and renewable, contributing to a sustainable environment. Advances in technology have enabled organisations to innovate and develop energy sources with lower carbon emissions, resulting in reduced environmental ...

During the long drought last year, Mohamed Godana – a herder in Isiolo – lost more than 50 cows and at least 100 goats. For now, pastoralists are a happy lot, with pasture and water in plenty, owing to the heavy rains. “There is enough milk and food for my family when it rains. D...

Those of us in technology space sometimes get lost in our own echo chambers. We use buzzwords that are not accessible to those outside our world. For instance, the issue of “green tech skills” is a hot topic in our sector currently — much like people enjoy bandying about terms li...

Kenya once emerged as a leader in the fight against plastic pollution after being among the first countries in East Africa to limit the use of single-use plastics. It also signed the Clean Seas initiative to rid waterways of plastic waste. The main aim of banning plastic bottles ...

In 2022 alone, more than 7.4 million people across Africa were displaced due to climate shocks, adding to existing conflicts and instability. This is according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). This trend reflects a growing reality – climate change is a power...

Governments, Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) and the private sector need to work together, for the continent to mobilise enough resources to drive its climate action agenda. This was one of the messages relayed during the Climate Change Global Business Summit, an event conv...

The Earth's temperature is increasing, which has serious consequences. The United Nations has warned that this warming is not just causing hot summers or disrupting wildlife, but it is also disrupting weather patterns on a global scale. This means that more frequent and severe he...

Establishing dedicated climate change units by all state entities — ministries, agencies and departments, including county governments—  in their organisational structures is a legal obligation. Section 15 (5) (c) of the 2016 Climate Change Act calls on all public entities to 'de...

The climate change discourse often revolves around rising temperatures, extreme weather events and melting ice caps. But in the middle of these conversations lies an overlooked facet: the disproportionate impact of climate change on women.  It is essential to evaluate the interse...

In the ongoing fight against climate crisis, the indispensable role of science has emerged as a beacon of hope and a guiding light for meaningful action. From unravelling the intricacies of Earth's climate system to devising innovative solutions, science remains at the core of ef...

Delegates attending the sixth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA 6) have adopted 15 resolutions, two draft decisions, and one ministerial declaration. The culmination of the assembly provides the world with new policies and standards that will be implemented...

A spirited joint campaign by the East African Community (EAC) member states against the mounting climate change challenge has the potential to make a big difference. In fact, such a regional drive is long overdue. None of these countries on their own can have the grit to force th...

Kenyan communities have coexisted with their environment for many generations, and their knowledge is closely connected to the natural rhythms of the land. This knowledge, which is often disregarded, has enormous potential in the battle against climate change. We refer to this kn...

Climate change, as one of the triple planetary crises and its negative impact on food systems, is a stark reality at our doorsteps. A staggering one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions stem from our food systems. From cultivation to consumption, every step of the food’s valu...

Climate change effects may pose an increased health danger to mothers and children in Kenya’s Arid and semi-arid lands (Asals) unless urgent measures are put in place to address them. Besides causing direct air pollution, global warming pollutants like carbon and industrial and a...

Amid contemporary challenges, the convergence of climate financing and sustainable business practices have collectively heightened the pivotal role of private sector in environmental sustainability. The convergence has also highlighted the pressing need to address climate change ...

I recently had a chat with an influential figure in Kenya's business landscape and as we discussed risk management, he asked me: should climate change concern risk management experts in today’s organisations? I responded in the affirmative and here is why. The reason why the worl...

As the dust settles on COP28, the push on climate mobility and gender to protect the most vulnerable from the impacts of climate is intensifying. The message couldn’t be clearer - while commitment grows, action continues to lag behind particularly in developing countries as the c...

The COP28 president, Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, said in 2015 that the world had agreed to limit global warming to 1.5°C compared to pre-industrial levels by 2050. To remain on target, science tells us emissions must be halved by 2030 and this requires a commitment to action from e...

As she steps into the one-eighth-acre plot, she could easily be mistaken as a nature lover looking for quality tree seedlings. But Aisha Karanja is a woman on a different mission as she propagates bamboo seedlings in Dagoretti, Nairobi County. Her nursery is thriving as evidenced...

Scientists have warned that 2024 could be the point of no return in terms of global warming. It is not only predicted to be the hottest year, but is also forecasted to smash the global warming record by surpassing the set limit, according to the Meteorological Office. Global warm...

East African countries will meet their climate action obligations if they look for solutions from ordinary people in their countries. According to climate researchers, the national governments in the region should pitch for logistical and financial support to address climate chan...

Environmental activists have asked countries leading in greenhouse gas emissions to directly compensate Kenyan families affected by the adverse effects of climate change. The activists asked the states to pay people who feel the effects of adverse weather phenomena like drought a...

Although it might be hard to see just yet, the world shifted last week, thanks to the outcome of the COP28 climate summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. For the first time in history, every country in the world formally recognised that fossil fuels were the cause of the climate ...

In Kenya, and likely in most of Africa, the millennial generation is probably the one that has witnessed the most remarkable transformation all around, in the shortest duration this far. In the last four decades, this generation has lived through massive strides in political tran...

There has been a lot of talk about global warming and climate change. Is it real? And does it have any impact on our health? Thanks,  George Climate change is real and refers to long-term changes in temperatures (global warming) and weather patterns. Some of the weather changes h...

Whatever the declarations from COP28, women must be put on a pedestal in the search for solutions. The climate crisis the world faces is, evidently, not gender-neutral and women and girls are increasingly finding themselves bearing its greatest impact. The crisis significantly am...

The gods of the rain have visited Kenya. Before then, scientists had sounded a warning, saying that an El Nino phenomenon would make its presence felt this year in the region during the short rains season from October to December.  The season started with less vigour. Many, inclu...

An hour-long press briefing ends with a performance from a US-based artist –AY Young, whose music is a firebrand buzzing with a message on the need to save our planet. It is a sports briefing, at a climate conference, not an Olympics or the Union of European Football Association ...

As the world converges on Dubai for the annual UN climate conference, COP28, dubbed the biggest and most inclusive so far, there is much hope and anticipation for multisectoral sustainable solutions to the impacts of climate change, specifically, among the vulnerable communities ...

The link between climate change and health took centre stage at the UN talks on climate change in Dubai yesterday, with Kenya becoming one of the more than 100 countries that endorsed the COP28 United Arab Emirates Declaration on Climate and Health, a powerful call to action that...

Kenya’s climatic catastrophe was cited as among the world’s worst on the first day of the global United Nations summit on climate change in Dubai yesterday, bringing to sharp focus the delicate future the country faces in a year of searing temperatures and horrendous floods. Spea...

In this thought-provoking episode, host Steve Otieno engages in a compelling conversation with Dr. Solomon Dersso, Founding Director of Amani Africa Media and an esteemed expert in the fields of climate change, security, and conflict resolution. Together, they delve into the intr...

As the COP28 begins in Dubai, the call to cut carbon emissions and support countries most impacted by the consequences of the climate emergency grow louder. The people who are least responsible for climate emissions are paying for the crisis with their health and lives. Despite t...

As CoP28 gets under way, the severity of the climate crisis is increasingly apparent. Kenya is grappling with the devastating El Nino phenomenon, which has resulted in deaths and destruction of crops, businesses and infrastructure. A recent World Bank report warns that the econom...

The quote "Failure to plan is planning to fail", often attributed to Benjamin Franklin, remains timeless and relevant in various contexts. In the context of the recent Africa Climate Summit, it underscores the importance of proactive planning and preparedness in addressing climat...

At the maiden Earthwise Summit hosted by the Nation Media Group (NMG) on Friday, November 17, a powerful message emerges — one of transformative action, re-imagination and an unwavering commitment to seeking solutions to climate change. The convening of the event is timely and a ...

The earth is likely to hit the 1.5-degree Celsius temperature limit for global warming earlier, in 2029, if humans fail to bring down the current rate of fossil fuel burning. The result will be a dramatic increase in disasters, loss of coral reefs, water shortages, heat waves and...

Alanis Morissette’s song Ironic strikes me as a blend of philosophy and melody, encapsulating the irony of life’s twists and turns. It’s ironic that some of the most transformative everyday technologies originated from wartime endeavours. From the ubiquitous internet and Siri to ...

Climate change poses an "existential threat" to life on Earth, prominent scientists warned Tuesday, in an assessment of this year's avalanche of heat records and weather extremes that they said are hitting more ferociously than expected. With expectations that 2023 will be the ho...

The environment, our essential life vessel, is gradually deteriorating under our stewardship. Without suitable habitats, wildlife cannot thrive; and without wildlife, life on Earth – sustained primarily through processes like photosynthesis – will falter. Moreover, without wildli...

Kenya has a significant number of young people, with those under 15 making up 39 per cent of the total population, according to the State of Kenya Population 2020 report. This demographic is especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change as they will soon become the adult...

Climate change is a huge threat to our planet’s ecosystems and human livelihoods. In Africa, discussions about climate change mitigation have been extensive with various measures proposed. But the disconnect between discourse and action remains a pressing issue.  With financial c...

Among the many crises besieging us right now, climate change is probably the hardest to ignore. Daily, it seems, come reports of thousands – many thousands of people – dying in floods, earthquakes and wildfires, along with deaths from persistent famine in many parts of Africa. Fa...

Even as we marked the International Day of Peace on Thursday, there’s more at stake in the fight against climate change and it’s worth noting that climate crisis is not just an environmental challenge; it’s also a security issue. The growing potential for conflicts associated wit...

Studious silence welcomes you to a makeshift laboratory at Zetech University main campus in Ruiru, Kiambu County. A group of 10 young university students are immersed in their work as they fix one piece after another; with a whiteboard populated with scientific scribbles forming...

The other day, we were amused when one legislator gave an incohesive description about climate change and the then ongoing discussions at the Africa Climate Summit. While that offered comic relief during the climate discussions, it pointed to a bigger issue: do the masses really ...

Climate think-tank Power Shift Africa has launched the Adapt2Live campaign to mobilise international support for adaptation and resilience initiatives across Africa. The initiative aims to raise the profile of adaptation in the global climate discourse, while advocating for incre...

The recently ended African Climate Summit failed to prioritise health impacts of climate change even as experts decry a sharp increase of climate-related diseases. Prof Samuel Kariuki, the East Africa director for the Drugs and Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi), said climate c...

When President Daniel Toroitich arap Moi left the country to present the keynote address on the ozone layer on March 5, 1989, he was with Prof Ouma Muga – then an assistant minister in the Ministry of National Guidance and Political Affairs. Prof Muga pioneered climate change dis...

Climate change is one of the most pressing issues of our time, with far-reaching consequences for the planet and future generations. And young people are emerging as a driving force in the fight. Their passion, innovation and determination are inspiring change at local, national ...

Climate change. These are magic words. They evoke images of disaster. Of fires, raging storms, destructive seawaters. Of hunger. Death. Annihilation of humanity. These words are found in all kinds of places where ordinary people, government officials, businesspeople etc meet. Cli...

“Respond to his article,” a colleague told me “ It will help you teach journalists about the right way of doing things.” We were speaking about the framing of a stirring article by Emeka Mayaka, the Political Editor of The People Daily.  Mayaka, or GME as we call him in other cir...

And the three page one headlines – “Climate: The grim reality”, “Africa’s moment”, and “Ruto: Don’t kill us with debt” –tell in crisp words the theme and urgency of the summit. There were, though, one or two letdowns. These included unimaginatively worded picture captions, and an...

The traction on health being central to the climate crisis is gaining momentum, and its drum rolls need to sound even louder. This, as about 1.1 million people in Africa died prematurely from air pollution-related diseases in 2019, representing one-sixth of the total global estim...

Around 80 years ago, representatives from various countries collaborated to create a new system to prevent scarcity, poverty and instability that had contributed to the onset of World War II. This resulted in establishment of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and other...

The world needs to produce more food to cater for its growing population. However, various factors including climate change have gradually caused a decline in food production. Among them, climate change is causing frequent and severe weather events like droughts, floods and heat ...

Driving their gas guzzlers to the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) to discuss how best to limit carbon emissions, the heads of state and dignitaries attending the Africa Climate Summit are masters of irony. With the exception of the host, They would then disembark,...

As African countries gather in Nairobi from today for a regional climate summit, a new report details how banks outside the continent are funding projects that are oiling the wheels of the climate crisis. The report, titled "How the finance flows; the banks fuelling the climate c...

Mt Kenya stands tall, its snowcap jutting into the clouds. It is enormous, straddling three counties. But this mountain, as mighty as it stands, is feeling the effects of climate change, its crown slowly melting away. In another twenty years, the snow on her head will be complete...

The African youth want to be systematically embedded in climate frameworks, this was the key message from the Africa Youth Climate Assembly (AYCA) that concluded on Sunday (September 3). AYCA is the official youth engagement mechanism of the Africa Climate Summit that begins toda...

The world is coming to Nairobi this week in a key climate discussion at a time when the globe is under immense pressure to adopt a common position on climate policy. It is the goal of the inaugural Africa Climate Summit, the brainchild of Kenya’s President William Ruto. The Presi...

Kenyan leaders are hugely betting on revenues from carbon credits to support the country’s environmental conservation efforts and more, but the journey to this reality will very well be long and bumpy. Carbon credits are today the world’s most prominent way of fighting climate ch...

In a world reeling from the impacts of climate change, the Africa Climate Summit provides a beacon of hope and collaboration. Despite contributing a mere five per cent to global climate change, Africa bears the brunt of its devastating consequences. The urgency to act is palpable...

In a world teetering on the brink of irreversible climate crisis, “addressing this crisis is undoubtedly a top global priority if not THE global priority of the 21st century.” Agriculture has become risky in the face of climate change – from the destruction of vast rainforest are...

Finance holds the key to climate resilience in the developing world, and it is time we move beyond traditional infrastructure and explore the powerful potential of grassroots innovation. Our world, with all its intricate and interconnected systems, is teetering on a climate thres...

What does climate change mean to you? To some, it embodies the image of once-lively rivers now reduced to mere trickles, harsh realities of relentless droughts, or the entry of zoonotic diseases that were once confined to textbooks. To others, it is the distant shores with rising...

African leaders will convene in Nairobi from September 4 to 6, 2023, for the Africa Climate Summit. This landmark gathering is set to provide a unified position on several climate change challenges to be negotiated at COP28 in Dubai later this year. The Paris Agreement (PA) of 20...

Last year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, received negative feedback from young people, particularly those from Africa. Eric Njuguna, a youth climate justice organiser based in Nairobi who works with Greta Thunberg’s Fridays For Futur...

There are three silver linings to the rather dark, foreboding cloud hanging over us at this time. There is so much to be gloomy about, it is a talent to find something positive to say about our condition. The first one is the crackdown on corruption at the Immigration Department....

The reality of climate change is no longer a distant concern; it is now a pressing global crisis that requires immediate attention. The Africa Climate Summit 2023 (ACS23), which will take place from September 4 to 6 at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre in Nairobi, is a...

Once upon a time, there lived a peasant farmer who barely eked out a living. He persistently petitioned bountiful mother earth for a breakthrough, and one fateful night, his entreaties were miraculously granted. In a dream, an angel appeared and advised him to visit the local mar...

Although Africa has contributed the least to the current climate crisis, it has been among the hardest hit by its impacts. But that’s not the continent’s only story in the global warming debate: The first Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi will focus on the continent’s potential as...

The Africa Climate Summit gets underway in Nairobi next Monday, so we will jump back, then forward. First, back to February 2022. The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), those clever people in Kabete, Nairobi, who say complicated things that we don’t understand thr...

As an African, I have seen first-hand the devastating effects of climate change. I have met communities displaced by floods in Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. I have spoken to farmers from Northern Kenya who have lost their crops to drought. These experiences have made me acutel...

In the inaugural Africa Climate Summit, we’ll come together to chart a common narrative and pathway of our position on the global crisis, which must be grounded in justice for our people. We must seize our chance to transform people’s lives and livelihoods throughout the continen...

When Anyango Ahenda lost her husband in 2021, her world crumbled, and the idea of becoming the sole breadwinner for her family seemed terrifying. “I felt overwhelming pain, hopelessness, and emotional turmoil. Our society's patriarchal norms dictate that women shouldn't farm or p...

Due to extreme weather conditions, political leaders are now disaster commentators. Climate change is an “existential threat”, as US President Joe Biden stated in July”, while UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the earth is now in “the age of boiling”, not “warming”. The ...

Conservationists say there was a time when humans and wildlife coexisted, living a fulfilled life. Our Sunday drive into Mpala Research Centre provided us with this opportunity, and we saw zebras, reticulated giraffes, elephants, impala, dik-diks and other wildlife animals within...

I recently attended a conference organised by the Global Centre for Policy and Strategy (GLOCEPS) themed Shaping the future of climate change action plans for sustainable development in Eastern Africa. Experts spoke passionately about how global warming has negatively impacted th...

Few countries take the threat of climate change as seriously as Indonesia. President Jokowi’s recent trip to Africa highlighted exactly this. Among the top issues on the agenda were encouraging economic cooperation, development issues and addressing common concerns, among which c...

Scientists have called for more collaboration between stakeholders in various sectors to deal with climate change and its effects on health. The experts in the health and environment sector said global warming is contributing to major health problems and emerging diseases in the ...

The goal of providing clean cooking energy for the majority of Kenyan women by 2028 may not be achieved as quickly as hoped. This is because there are no enough incentives in the clean energy sector to encourage the adoption of affordable, locally developed technology innovations...

Growing up in a household that championed gender equality, the dissonance between her family's values and the broader societal reality prompted her to start questioning the disparities she witnessed. She is a women’s rights and gender equality advocate. I did a Bachelor of Scienc...

When Ellyanne Wanjiku Chlystun, a brave environment enthusiast, may not have met Dr Ruto, but she is undoubtedly one of the unsung heroines working to make Kenya’s dream come true. Ellyanne remembers exactly when she decided she wanted to be an environmentalist. She was four year...

When Elizabeth Wambita completed her university education early last year, she desperately needed a job to help her make ends meet. Her spirited attempts Lake Hub is a technology and social innovation hub dedicated to bridging the skills gap for Africa's women and youth through ...

A group of 11 non-state actors drawn from religious organisations, civil society organisations and trade unions across the continent have tabled six demands to African presidents ahead of the upcoming Africa Climate Summit. The group also says it rejects anti-African proposals th...

The other day, we had one of those nightmares travellers with onward connecting flights suffer. Our Ethiopian Airlines flight out of the Botswanan capital Gaborone to Addis Ababa was delayed by over an hour. Ethiopia’s Bole airport is a madhouse; so we figured that, by the time w...

President Civil Society Organisations (CSO) claim McKinsey has hijacked the summit, giving prominence to issues such as the Carbon Credit Market, which they argue will largely benefit Western countries and the global consultancy’s clients. “Rather than advancing Africa’s interest...

The Eighth Devolution Conference (DevCon) being held in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County, this week stands out for a number of firsts. It is the inaugural biennial conference, the previous ones having been annual. It is also the first in the second decade of devolution. Lastly, it is ...

With production in farms dwindling due to changing weather patterns and the adverse effects that put pressure on the country’s budget, 12 counties are ready to embrace Genetically Modified (GMO) crops to overcome the effects of climate change. The devolved units’ Agriculture exec...

New research spanning nearly two decades and involving more than 100 countries has revealed a connection between escalating air pollution levels and the rise of antibiotic resistance, posing a pressing global health concern. The findings, published in the Lancet Planetary Health ...

The British High Commissioner-designate, Neil Wigan OBE, has officially taken up his post as Head of Mission at the British High Commission in Nairobi. Mr Wigan succeeds Jane Marriott at at a pivotal juncture in UK-Kenya relations. In his introductory statement, Mr Wigan expresse...

About 500,000 people in Kwale and Kilifi counties will benefit from a Sh2 billion funding under the Conservation and Sustainable Management of Coastal and Marine Ecosystems (Cosme) project. The project, which aims to address the negative effects of climate change, will benefit wo...

Since the Industrial Revolution, the burning of coal and other fossil fuels to power factories and engines has led to voluminous amounts of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. Consequently, this is one of the primary reasons cited for climate change. Kenya is contributi...

Salome Lodis’ dreams of becoming a pilot were shattered 10 years ago when she fell pregnant while in class six. As fate would be for a young girl in a typical Pokot community, she was married off to the young boy who impregnated her. He was in class eight. After they were married...

Lahaina, Anger was growing Saturday over the official response to a horrific inferno that levelled a Hawaiian town, killing at least 89 people in the deadliest wildfire in the United States for over 100 years. More than 2,200 structures were damaged or destroyed as the fire tore ...

From the depths of Logman Forest, Nessuit trading centre overlooking the Eastern Mau is bustling with farmers bringing their produce to sell on market day. The market is a beehive of activity, crowded with carts and donkeys. They come loaded with fresh produce such as green maize...

Headlines over this column in recent weeks might prompt readers to see the writer as something of a Mister Glum, and who would blame them? Articles warning of global boiling (up from warming), of happy pictures being snatched from children, fears for future health care and the da...

Log onto social media, read the news, listen to conversations in social gatherings, and you will notice a common thread: people are decrying the lack of good leadership. Across all sectors of our society, not just in the political sphere, we’re beginning to wake up to the fact th...

The setting up by the UN of a day to focus on youth affairs confirms the importance of this segment of the population. The International Youth Day, marked on August 12, is a special recognition of the place of young people in their families, communities, country and the world. Ke...

Thirty-three people have been confirmed dead and 18 are still missing after Beijing's heaviest rains on record, officials said Wednesday. China's capital has been hit by record downpours in recent weeks, damaging infrastructure and deluging swaths of the city's suburbs and surrou...

Governors have painted a rosy picture of devolution since its inception in 2013, citing progress made in health, agricultural extension services, the establishment of modern markets, and the upgrading of feeder roads. In a report on the state of devolution ahead of the August 16-...

Two Kenyans have emerged winners in a global award that recognises individuals whose work is inclined towards ending extreme poverty and its systemic causes. Mega Gas Alternative Energy chief executive Peter Njeri was the overall winner of the 2023 Waislitz Global Citizen Awards....

Ewaso Nyiro River, the only river in arid northern Kenya, is on the verge of completely drying up due to increased human activity along its catchment areas. A view of the river at Archers Post Bridge, some 30 kilometres from Isiolo town towards Marsabit, revealed a looming water ...

Kenyans and Ugandans (not necessarily in that order) like playing with political fire. Since 2005, frustrated by the government of the day, Kenyans are quick to say “this country needs a strongman” or a “dictator”. Several Kenyans, especially on social media, write longingly for ...

African faith leaders from 11 countries have expressed concern over the continent's Sh157 trillion debt crisis, with 25 countries said to be in “deep debt”. The leader say the countries should strive to reduce the debt burden to achieve sustainable development. They further said ...

Sidney Opiyo, 27, is an environmental scientist from Machakos University, a climate activist, and conservation photographer and storyteller with experience in environmental conservation projects and climate change. He has witnessed firsthand the impact of climate change, and this...

The youth have the power to take public matters into their hands and use their collective power to be the change they want. After all, they are the majority, they are stronger and more energetic, with dynamic new ideas. Africa is the youngest continent with 70 per cent of Sub-Sah...

Chepkitale Forest in Mt Elgon is one of the oldest protected forests in Kenya and is home to over 1,500 tree species, including endangered species like Juniperus procera, Olea chrysophylla and Vachellia xanthophloea. Numerous species of birds and animals such as the bateleur eagl...

The fragmentation of world trade has culminated in the formation of rival blocs, giving impetus to an emerging deglobalisation phenomenon. At the World Chambers Congress 2023, in Geneva, the WTO director-general, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, opined that global prosperity is at risk of...

Scientists have found that about 500 regions of the human genome appear to directly impact your dietary intake by affecting perception of flavours and food preference. The human genome refers to all of the approximately three billion base pairs of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) that...

In the bustling Njokerio trading centre outside Egerton University in Njoro Sub-county, Nakuru County, John Mwaura stares at a heap of slurry from his 10 pigs and turns it with a big wooden shovel. He then collects it in a wheelbarrow and dumps it in an open hole or burns it, rel...

The month of July in Kenya is known for being cold and while Kenyans made fun of it not being as cold as expected this year, large parts of the world were literally burning, caught in the grip of an unprecedented heatwave. More than 6.5 billion people, or 81 per cent of earth's p...

Jacqueline Kisato had no idea period poverty was a problem at institutions of higher learning until a Kenyatta University student borrowed a sanitary towel from her. Dr Kisato’s head went into a spin even as she handed the student a packet of pads. A study the don would later con...

A sound bite from the UN Secretary-General said it best: “The era of global warming has ended,” declared Antonio Guterres, “the era of global boiling has arrived.” If you have been watching television in recent weeks, you could hardly disagree – wildfires raging across the Greek ...

National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang'ula has asked universities to take the lead in research and innovation to support the government's efforts to combat the adverse effects of climate change, including the grand plan to plant 15 billion trees by 2032. He said that tackling cli...

The link between development and climate change will be a key agenda for the Africa Climate Summit 2023, which will be hosted in Kenya next month. In a media briefing yesterday, Environment, Climate Change and Forestry Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya said that the focus of the summ...

Governor Abdulswamad Nassir's political dalliance with the Kenya Kwanza coalition has been put to test after Mombasa MCAs rejected his chief officer nominee for renewable energy, natural resources and climate change resilience John Kiprop. The Ward Reps rejected Mr Kiprop's nomin...

The climate in arid and semi-arid regions continues to worsen, with prolonged droughts reducing their crop and livestock production. With this comes starvation, the majority of those severely affected being women and children. So much has been said about Kenya’s food security sit...

It is minutes to 7am when we embark on a journey from the dusty Mutomo town to Ndiang’ui village, Kitui South, tens of kilometres away. We are to meet with Avia Munyao, who has become the talk of the area, thanks to her consecutive bumper harvests despite the area’s harsh weather...

Environment, Climate Change and Forestry Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya has defended the lifting of the logging moratorium, saying it would reduce importation of timber to meet the high demand. She added that the government has also embarked on a national tree planting initiative ...

We are being rushed into a fossil fuel-clean energy transition by climate activists since clean energy has little or no greenhouse gases, reduces carbon dioxide, and mitigates climate change. It has become politically incorrect to talk about oil and gas as they are associated wit...

Iran has declared a two-day holiday for government workers and banks nationwide as searing temperatures sweep across the country, state media reported. The decision came after the meteorological office forecast temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in many ci...

Whether as a result of a myth or a perceived curse, Mutara River and its source are a perfect case of how community ownership and attachment to environment conservation can make an impact on climate resilience. The nearly two-kilometre walk between Mutara Water Intake, meandering...

At the entrance of the 27th Conference of Parties (COP27) venue in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt last year, there was a subtle protest by vegans advocating for a shift to plant-based proteins. Using air puppets, roll-up banners and placards, they hoped to pass a message to people who ca...

Africa, like many regions around the world, is facing the undeniable impacts of climate change. The continent's diverse ecosystems and rich biodiversity are particularly vulnerable to these changes, posing a significant threat to the livelihoods and well-being of millions of peop...

Scientists are worried that people living in areas once inhospitable to mosquitoes in Eastern Africa countries such as Kenya, Tanzania and Ethiopia could be newly exposed to malaria.  This is after they found evidence showing that the temperature ranges where malaria-carrying mos...

When thousands of rocks and boulders plucked themselves from Sikot hills and settled on swathes of land in Kapkaremba, West Pokot County, it did not make the news. Perhaps because no life was lost. But for the locals whose land lay buried under rocks along the Kipkomo River, thei...

The use of polythene bags was adopted in the early 1960s as a solution for packaging goods in various places. However, after some decades, it became a disaster due to poor and careless disposal by users, leading to contamination of water sources. That resulted in risking the aqua...

First, there was the “Cassandran” (largely unheeded) prophecy that environmental irresponsibility would land us in trouble. Now the fires are burning in the heart of the world, between Europe, Asia and Africa. There is also the rising phenomenon of artificial intelligence (AI) an...

The global energy transition presents unique challenges for developing nations that have not benefited from significant industrial and economic growth but are now expected to reduce emissions at the expense of their development.  Moreover, these countries are disproportionately a...

There is no doubt that the world is headed for grave trouble.  Climate change is no longer some academic fixation or speculation, but a tremendous evil force that is increasingly building up. Interestingly, July this year, as scientists have confirmed, is going to be the hottest ...

The world now has five years left to hit crucial global climate goals, according to experts. This week, the Climate Clock Kenya team joined the world in recognising the Climate Emergency Day, whose purpose is to raise awareness about the urgency of addressing climate change and t...

If he met an influential leader today, Junior Ambani Osogo would ask them to educate, engage, and involve children in climate action. The 12-year-old learner also wishes policymakers and leaders would push for more climate change awareness. Junior, a learner at St. Mary's School ...

“My name is Awadh Mbarak, a resident of Kipini town in Tana River County. I have lived here for many years. What is shocking to me is the way the ocean is eating away the shoreline, leaving my community under threat. These are the effects of climate change. So far, more than 600 ...

July is on track to be the hottest month in recorded history, scientists confirmed Thursday, as UN chief Antonio Guterres warned Earth has moved into an "era of global boiling". Searing heat intensified by global warming has affected tens of millions of people in parts of Europe,...

Renewed environmental threats have led to fresh calls for African nations to adopt innovative approaches to turn around the continent's livestock sub-sector. Experts say countries should build resilient feed and fodder systems that will provide a lifeline to the crucial sub-secto...

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) delegates meeting in Nairobi have picked Jim Skea of the United Kingdom as the UN body's new chairperson. Prof Skea, 69, was elected during the ongoing 59th session of the IPCC that started on Tuesday and ends of Friday. The Un...

On the outskirts of Nairobi in Dagoretti South, a smallholder farmer decries the problems of climate change. Expensive farm inputs, high labour costs and the long wait for harvests that never come have become the norm for Simon Maina, who still tries to provide for his family off...

It is World Mangrove Day today, the annual review of conservation of the high-value but threatened tree species. Mangrove is a ecosystem heavyweight, owing to its notable contribution to environmental conservation and the improvement of livelihoods among marine communities. Mangr...

A new report has found that air pollution is responsible for 15 per cent of all lung cancer deaths. “Exposure to air pollution can lead to cancer, stroke, respiratory, cardiovascular diseases and other health issues – similar risks as those associated with smoking tobacco; while ...

The government through Environment, Climate Change and Forestry departments has embarked on an ambitious programme of harnessing natural wetlands to buffer citizens against climate change impacts and boost resilience. Speaking during a visit to Kalacha and North Horr wetlands, En...

For close to 10 years, Roger Jessop, a resident of Jumba La Mtwana in Mtwapa, Kilifi County has witnessed the release of close to 70, 000 turtle babies into the Indian Ocean. Seeing the baby turtles in the race of life from the nest to the shoreline is his top priority and an int...

About 10 years ago, a group of malnourished residents came together to diversify their agricultural assets, but camel farming was not one of their new alternatives. After much thought, the residents of Rimoi sub-location in Elgeyo Marakwet County, who are members of the Lapkeiyet...

A boat ride into the gigantic freshwater Lake Victoria from Dunga Beach in Kisumu City feels like a fish out of water. As the V-shaped, leaking wooden boat floats across the freshwater lake, the colour of the water gradually changes to dark green. The unpleasant waters emit a str...

Over 122 million more people are facing hunger in the world since 2019 due to the pandemic and repeated climate shocks. This is according to the latest State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report, jointly published by five United Nations specialised agencies. ...

China's top diplomat Wang Yi during a visit to Kenya on Saturday praised the two countries' economic partnership as a "win-win", according to a statement from the Chinese authorities. Kenya and China have "become good friends with mutual trust in politics and good partners with w...

Technology is, undoubtedly, the new world order, impacting all spheres of modern existence. From agriculture to medicine, the driving forces are science, technology and innovation, all of which rely on rigorous research. Agriculture plays a pivotal role in Africa’s economic agend...

Africa is on the cusp of a digital revolution that is poised to transform its economies, empower communities, and bridge the glaring digital divide. With the projected worth of the digital economy in Africa estimated at an impressive $712 billion by 2050, the significance of the ...

A boat ride into the gigantic freshwater Lake Victoria from Dunga Beach in Kisumu City feels like a fish out of water. As the V-shaped leaking wooden boat floats across the freshwater lake, the colour of the water gradually changes to dark green. The unpleasant waters emit a stro...

By Rashid Mohamed, MBS Globally, electric mobility has gained prominence as a strategy to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), improve air quality, and decrease dependence on fossil fuels.  The Paris Declaration on Electro-Mobility and Climate Change and Call to Action invite...

Three weeks ago, farmers, experts and industry players assembled in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County, for a wheat expo. Some travelled from as far as Meru and Nyeri counties to have a feel of the latest technology and best wheat farming practices. The Kenya Wheat Expo was organised by...

Kisii Governor Simba Arati has reshuffled his 10-member cabinet in what he says is aimed at enhancing service delivery. Mr Arati who announced his first cabinet on October 13, 2022, said the top county officials need to ensure effectiveness and efficiency in their work. “The chan...

President William Ruto’s reason for his recent Some trees are very durable and rot-resistant. An example is cypress, because of its cypressene, which acts as a natural preservative. After some decades and old growth, however, it becomes extremely susceptible to decay, insect pest...

The COP28 presidency has expressed optimism that the December climate summit will move the loss and damage agenda forward and ensure that countries convert pledges into actions. While meeting European Union Energy and Environment Ministers to discuss the plans and objectives for ...

With only 16.7 percent of the total world population, Africa has historically been the world’s smallest contributor to the ongoing climate change crisis, emitting less than 2.9 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. But the continent bears the disproportionate burden of the adverse...

Almost unnoticed red crabs peep through the moist burrows along the muddy shores, as birds chirp, hopping from branch to branch of shrubby mangrove trees. This breathtaking sight, signifying a high abundance of species and a stable ecosystem, is a new dawn for locals of Mkupe vil...

Between September 4 and 6, Kenya will host the Africa Climate Summit, the first time in climate change discourse history that Africa shows her potential in helping the world deal with climate change. President William Ruto and the Africa Union Commission leadership will lead the ...

Kenya is set to host the 55th Session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) between July 25-28, where an election for a new chairperson will be held. The UN body created 35 years ago to provide policymakers with regular scientific assessments on climate change, ...

Logging ban *** *** *** ***...

Susan Chomba glares out the window of a Prado Land Cruiser at dozens of motorcycles speeding in the opposite direction. Each motorcycle carries at least five bags of charcoal and for every bag, at least three medium-sized acacia trees must be chopped down and burned. Charcoal pro...

As people from arid and semi arid regions suffer under severe droughts caused by climate change, it is all smiles for Jonah Kitetu and his wife Damaris from the semi-arid Makueni County because the scorching sun is now helping them produce sufficient food for their family and sur...

Last week, Environment Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya lamented an invasion of government forests by people who were burning charcoal and even leasing out sections of the forest. Ironically, this grave threat to the environment came just 10 days after the government lifted a 2018 b...

In May this year, I attended the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue Conference in Germany, when I was startled by the few women who were participating.  I expected more women from the energy sector at the conference considering that the event is one of the world’s most important f...

A revelation by Environment Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya confirms that the public fears over the adverse consequences of Unless checked, this could undermine the President’s afforestation plan. Last December, Dr Ruto earned accolades at home and beyond, when he launched a progra...

“I am Julius Owino, aka Juliani. I am a Hip-Hop artist with an interest in climate change, resource recovery, and youth development. I was born in Dandora and while growing up, we didn’t know we were poor until someone pointed it out to us. Dandora hosts the largest landfill in t...

We had a smooth drive from Nairobi to Nanyuki town until we eventually came to a section of road that was so narrow and covered in broken stones that we weren't sure we could drive through. There are not many people who use the road. During our journey on that lonely road, barely...

In the outskirts of Suguta Marmar shopping centre, about 40 kilometres out of the Samburu’s capital – Maralal, Santana Lemuna has become a household name. The 38-year-old mother of three is now one of the main suppliers of indigenous eggs in a community that has always undermined...

Ten days after President William Ruto announced the government’s decision to lift a logging ban, Environment Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya says some people have started encroaching on forests. The CS said the invaders are engaging in illegal activities such as charcoal burning, w...

Kenya and Italy are in for a diplomatic spat after the Cabinet chaired by President William Ruto took a position to begin the process of withdrawing from the bilateral agreement that established the Luigi Broglio Malindi Space Centre. Appearing before the National Assembly's Impl...

The Global Fund awarded the contract for procurement of Sh3.7 billion mosquito nets to two firms that failed in the bid that was floated by the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa), MPs heard on Wednesday, July 12. The two firms were among the 17 companies that were unsuccess...

When former and retired ambassadors met in Naivasha recently for a workshop on science for environment diplomacy in Kenya, it was not the normal workshops that the lakeside town often hosts. The inaugural workshop organised by the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs in colla...

When Regina Maithya, from Kitui County, lost her husband in 2015, she was devastated. As a housewife, she could not figure out how to provide for her family. Her husband had been their only breadwinner and his absence was a major blow. Soon after his burial, the mother of four pl...

In a move aimed at accelerating environmental action worldwide, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Council early last week approved the release of Sh196.6 billion ($1.4 billion) to address the pressing issues of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. The decision was...

The government will closely monitor mineral exploration across the country amid fears of potential dangers to life and the environment. On Monday, the Kenya Nuclear Regulatory Authority (KNRA) said it had embarked on a nationwide radiation mapping, with a particular focus on uran...

Tom Stuker has flown some 23 million miles in three decades, the same as 48 round trips to the moon, but the American says he is not concerned by his carbon footprint. Stuker, dubbed the world's most traveled air passenger, estimates he has spent the equivalent of three of his 69...

As the Conference of the Parties (COP28) draws near, calls are growing loud around the world to have the host country, the United Arab Emirates, reconsider its decision to appoint Dr Sultan Al Jaber as the president of the COP due to his fossil fuel job as CEO of Abu Dhabi Nation...

In May 2021, Josphat Tiren, 58, was forced to vacate his home of many years in Leswa village, Baringo South, adjacent to Lake Baringo after water levels rose to dangerous levels. An estimated 10,000 people in his village and adjacent areas were affected and displaced. Their house...

President This year, we silently mark 120 years of wanton destruction of Kenya’s forest and the continued use of this natural resource for political patronage. Interestingly, we managed to ban hunting of wild animals for trophies, but we have never stopped tree poaching. Forests ...

Three of the seven days last week recorded the highest ever global average temperature in years, unofficial data from scientists in the United States reveal. Analysing data using the Climate Reanalyser tool, scientists from the University of Maine showed that Wednesday was the ho...

As the harsh reality of climate change began to unfold in the Horn of Africa, Wario Godana, a 56-year-old resident of Badan Rero village in Marsabit County, found himself at the forefront of its devastating impacts. Reflecting on the past, Wario recalled how climate change was an...

“My name is Bukhe Wako, 52, a mother of five and a member of the Badasa Farmers Marketing Cooperative Society in Saku sub-county, Marsabit County. Since my childhood, I have been aware that women are considered inferior and oppressed in society, particularly within my pastoralist...

Predictably, President William Ruto’s recent lifting of the six-year-old logging ban has drawn sharp criticism because it is seen as premature and unnecessary by environmentalists and climate change activists, who believe that the reasons that forced the imposition of the ban are...

The hustler government wishes to send a warm message of gratitude to the High Court bench for their Solomonic ruling this week that sent political rejects home to be with their families instead of loitering around the corridors of power in a manner likely to suggest they want to ...

The German Development Bank (KfW) has issued a Sh1.9 billion (12.5 million Euros) grant, to be disbursed to smallholder farmers to support irrigation scheme projects. The financing whose agreement was signed upon yesterday will serve to extend a smallholder irrigation programme w...

A new report has revealed that millions of Kenyans are on the brink of starvation unless immediate action is taken to address the dire food situation. According to the report, approximately 5.4 million Kenyans are already grappling with a food crisis, the highest number recorded ...

President The President, who attended the 48th anniversary of the independence of the Union of the Comoros, was awarded the Grand Cross of the Green Crescent of the Comoros. Speaking during the celebrations of the Union of the Comoros, the Head of State stressed that the two coun...

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, who is leading the government’s bid to reform the tea subsector, has this week been meeting tea stakeholders, including farmers, in Kericho. Understandably, tea subsector reforms are part of the strategy of fulfilling the Kenya Kwanza administra...

The Nation Media Group’s annual premier event, the Kusi Ideas Festival, will be held in Gaborone, Botswana in December. This follows discussions on Wednesday afternoon between the Botswana President, Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi, and a delegation led by NMG Chairman, Dr Wilfred Kiboro. T...

The “Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) 2022” report shows that half of women college graduates aged 20-49 years are either obese or overweight, compared to 26 per cent of those without a formal education. The data also show six out of 10 women in the same age group in th...

In the face of the recent severe drought and its devastating effects on Kenyans, investing in sustainable energy sources is crucial. Before, the country’s energy supply, which was heavily reliant on inconsistent rainfall for hydroelectric power, would have been crippled. Power ra...

Never before has the East African Community (EAC) been so ripe for investment. The entry of DR Congo stretches the inter-governmental bloc from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic, a landmass of unimaginable beauty and boundless resources. Home to 285 million people, the EAC has a c...

The evolution of the world economy has brought to the fore the need to restructure our global financial architecture to be in tandem with the prevailing global economic landscape. Indeed, many critics of the major financial institutions, such as the World Bank and the Internation...

It is 10am and a number of women are busy watering and weeding the Samburu Women Tree Nursery in Maralal, Samburu County. Few are carrying babies on their backs as they work. Others occasionally stand upright and stretch as they take deep breaths.  Most parts of Samburu are hot a...

The KDHS 2022 report is a mixed bag of deserved progress and avoidable failures in the quality of life. Starting with the brighter side of the spectrum, though slight, the decline in the fertility rate, home deliveries and the under-five mortality rate is proof of improved sexual...

Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley and French President Emmanuel Macron invited world leaders to Paris on June 22-23 for a new “global pact” to finance the fight against poverty and human-induced climate change. Yet few dollars were put on the table. To a significant extent, the...

Until a year ago, Charles Mutua operated a boda boda at Mtito Andei in Makueni County. Today, the father of four dispatches at least 10 boda boda riders with sackloads of assorted vegetables daily to greengrocers after venturing into agribusiness. The change of fortunes is linked...

*** *** *** *** Great deed...

National Assembly Defence Intelligence and Foreign Relations Committee chairman Nelson Koech broached the need for professional diplomats as ambassadors instead of politicians, eliciting mixed reactions. However, as Diplomacy and political analysts however say politicians in the ...

The operation to restore peace in several counties in the North Rift that started in February is having the desired effect if the silence of guns over the past two months is an accurate indicator of the start of a decisive turn away from the dreaded sounds of gunfire, raids for a...

President William Ruto has reiterated the government’s commitment to plant 15 billion tree seedlings by 2032 to realise forest restoration and tackle the effects of climate change. This, even as his allies, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and Senate Majority Leader Aaron...

Even though fish farming in Siaya County has been attributed to cages in Yimbo, Sakwa and Rarieda, pond fishing is gaining ground. The devolved government has launched free fish-feeding programmes for farmers with ponds to encourage aquaculture. Many farmers with cages are counti...

Farmers and other stakeholders in the wheat industry have pushed for more varieties to expand the growing of the crop beyond traditional zones. The stakeholders also called for more incentives and reforms in the sector such as lowering the cost of farm inputs to improve on produc...

During a visit to M-KOPA, one of Africa’s leading fintech platforms, COP28 President-Designate and UAE Minister for Industry and Advanced Technology, Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, highlighted the importance of small and medium-sized enterprises in creating technologies that create la...

By Philippe Benoit and David Sandalow Africa is caught in the crosshairs of climate change. Despite contributing just three to five percent of global carbon-dioxide emissions, the continent will endure climate change’s destructive impact, including more severe storms, rising temp...

Mwanyani village in Machakos, under a sprawling thorn tree, does not seem the most appropriate place to achieve a Kenyan first, yet it is the venue the late President Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi chose to initiate a call to action against soil erosion. Not only was the setting remar...

The organisers of this year’s Nairobi City Marathon will monitor the quality of the air on the Nairobi city Marathon route all through the duration of the race on Sunday as more elite athletes registered. Athletics Kenya (AK) under the United Nations “Sports for Climate Action” h...

A few years ago, residents of Gitugu village in Murang’a County woke up to a devastating reality after heavy rains pounded the entire Central Kenya for weeks; their land had divided itself into pieces, and some of the pieces were either sinking or sliding away from their homestea...

As Kenya looks to improve its forest cover, the shamba system has been floated as a key stepping stone of realising that dream. The Kenya Forest Service says the country will use the shamba system to enable it meet its goal of increasing tree cover to about 30 per cent by 2032 fr...

Climate change and related effects have overtaken poaching as the principal threat to wildlife in Kenya, government officials say. The effects of droughts and environmental degradation have made animals move into communities, causing damage and leading to human-wildlife conflicts...

As of Wednesday morning, over 8,800 people had registered for the second edition of the Nairobi City Marathon set for Sunday across the Nairobi Expressway. This number far surpasses those who registered for the first edition of a one-of-a-kind competition that was held on May 8 l...

The Nation Media Group (NMG) wheat festival kicks off in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County on Thursday morning, bringing together stakeholders and farmers in the wheat industry for the next two days. Stakeholders are converging for the premier expo at a time when a huge demand has been...

In recent years, River Ewaso Ngi’ro has been the stage on which water resource-based conflict has played out. At the moment, Samburu and Laikipia, two of the six counties where the river flows, are part of an on-going security operation where gun-wielding bandits steal livestock ...

For many years, Richard Bowen has been planting maize on his four-acre farm in Moiben, Uasin Gishu County. But for the last three years, he shifted to avocado farming to improve his earnings. And now experts are banking on the cultivation of fruit trees to reverse the trend and i...

Nyandarua County government seeks to spend Sh2.4 billion to implement the Nyandarua Climate Change Action Plan in the next five years. But successful implementation of the plan already adopted by the Nyandarua County Assembly will heavily depend on the goodwill of the community, ...

The unique species of flying insects commonly referred to as White ants, has been a delicacy among the two communities for decades. Some consume it alive by clipping their wings to immobilize them and swallow but others prefer to deep fry in hot cooking oil as a value addition, i...

Next month,  Ambassador Nancy Karigithu may become the first woman to lead the International Maritime Organization (IMO) as its secretary-general. With more than three decades’ experience working in the maritime sector, Kenya has thrown its weight behind her and urged the world t...

Kenya’s ambassador to France Judi Wakhungu has been recalled as anxiety over the appointment of diplomats by Her recall came after the President led the Kenyan delegation to the New Global Financial Pact in Paris last week. It also follows the recall of another diplomat— Foreign ...

The aviation industry is adjusting to new technology in the manufacturing of a feature fleet of aircraft that will run 100 per cent on sustainable fuel as the industry puts in place ambitious measures to cut carbon emissions to zero by 2050. The aviators say Sustainable Aviation ...

“For the Maasai, a dying or emaciated cow means loss of livelihood. So when other people are probably feeling the pain of drought because they do not have food it means more than a meal to the pastoralists. It is a lack of school fees, high chances of girls being married off, and...

The transition to a vegetarian is one that Kenyans find hard to fathom especially because of their love for nyama choma. Kenyans consume at least three types of meat per week which scientists say greatly contributes to the escalating climate crisis.  The World Animal Protection ...

Shifting weather patterns as a result of climate change are threatening food production globally, with Africa being very vulnerable. Tharaka, a semi-arid region in Tharaka-Nithi County, has not been spared. Weather variabilities have caused wide fluctuations in agricultural produ...

President William Ruto has called for a new global financial system and a shift in climate change financing as he stepped up his push for a new world order. This week in Paris, France, at the ongoing New Global Financial Pact Summit, Dr Ruto has made two big suggestions on Bretto...

Hello. My name is Ezekiel Ntiyiene, 52, from Maili 46 village in Kajiado West Sub-county. I am a father of three children. I grew up knowing that the pride of a Maasai man was having a large herd of cattle. My siblings and I used to look forward to the livestock market day when o...

President William Ruto Dr Ruto made his blunt assessment in an interview with AFP on the sidelines of a two-day summit in Paris seeking to revamp the international financial order to better help developing nations combat poverty and climate change. Currently, poorer countries hav...

Heatwaves across Asia and beyond have already broken records this year, while the arrival of the El Nino climate phenomenon will mean even more extreme temperatures. Here, we look at how climate change produces extreme heat, how scientists evaluate heatwaves and the risks to huma...

Europe should brace for more deadly heatwaves driven by climate change, said a sweeping report on Monday, noting the world's fastest-warming continent was some 2.3 degrees Celsius hotter last year than in pre-industrial times. Crop-withering drought, record sea-surface temperatur...

I have been keenly following the global debate on the transition from fossil fuels to renewables because it has grave implications not only for the oil and gas sector but also for the people of Kenya generally. Nobody has an issue with the science and logic of the need for green ...

The world's poorest countries are bearing the brunt of the world's debt crisis, at a time when they need more cash than ever to fight climate change. As top officials gather in Paris for the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact, AFP takes a look at the problem. The poorest eco...

The Ministry of Agriculture is seeking to address future food system challenges through transformative strategies as crop yields continue to decline in the face of a growing population. According to the ministry, Kenya relies heavily on smallholder farmers, who contribute 70 per ...

PARIS We are urgently working to deliver more for people and the planet. Multiple, overlapping shocks have strained countries’ ability to address hunger, poverty, and inequality; build resilience; and invest in their futures. Debt vulnerabilities in low- and middle-income countri...

President Speaking at the opening of the African Energy Forum in Nairobi on Tuesday, President Ruto lamented that countries in the global south are forced to access loans from development financiers at interest rates up to a dozen times higher than those in the global north. Cash...

Kenya’s commitment to plant 15 billion trees over the next decade is a bold and crucial step towards addressing deforestation, habitat conversion, water scarcity and biodiversity loss. But the monumental agenda rests not solely on the government but also on the power of partnersh...

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges confronting the world today. Both the Africa Climate Action Summit and COP28 will be critical milestones in the year of the Global Stocktake for the international community to come together and provide a solutions-oriented path for...

Northern Kenya's budding film producer Moses Thuranira has bagged this year's Tribeka Festival award in the best documentary and cinematography category in the United States. Mr Thuranira, 29, popularly known as Mosnah, was announced as the winner of the 22nd annual Tribeka festi...

By Joyce Maru and Martha Awinoh Sweet potato production and consumption are impacting millions of lives in Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA), and contributing to the recovery and resilience of local food systems to climate shocks and droughts.  African countries, particularly in ...

Kenya’s total debt ceiling of Sh9.1 trillion which represents about 60 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to hit Sh10 trillion. This debt includes Sh4.7 trillion in external debts while Sh4.4 trillion is domestic debt. Part of this debt matured in 2023 and d...

The environment of a country speaks of the country’s environmental policies and the spirit of the day’s government towards the environment. Consequently, a clean environment testifies to a clean political mindset of the country’s leadership, while a dirty one translates to clatte...

More than 4,000 smallholder farmers who practise regenerative agriculture in Embu County have enrolled to a project that will see them start earning annual income just for having particular trees on their farms. Through an initiative by the Dutch based Rabobank to trade Carbon Re...

Our two-hour drive from Nairobi led us to Emali, a town on both sides of the Nairobi-Mombasa Highway. My team, consisting of our driver, photographer, and myself, was eager to witness a community’s efforts at adopting mitigation practices in the face of climate change. Departing ...

Some traditions die hard. Some don’t die no matter what. The Constitution of Kenya 2010 tried to democratise budget making. No longer would it be the preserve of Treasury technocrats and their minister. Instead, it would be a fairly open process, with public participation, and la...

National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u presented the much-anticipated budget policy highlights for the 2023/24 financial year yesterday with a raft of interventions geared towards women’s empowerment and social protection. Some of the key pronouncements are allocatio...

Plans are at an advanced stage to clear the legal framework for the establishment of the Open University of Kenya (OUK) following the approval of recommendations for the award of charter. It is now widely expected the university will be awarded the charter by the end of this mont...

Too little. Too slow. Dying hope. This is the situation of adaptation finance at the ongoing climate talks in Bonn, Germany. "We have been pushing for targets and indicators for the overall goals and the sectoral goals. Right now the views are completely divergent. But the bigger...

Forty-two per cent of Kenya’s land mass lies in the ocean, but this marine habitat is constantly under threat due to plastic pollution. But over the last few years, progress has been made towards solving this problem, thereby saving a number of marine species. In 2020, Danida Mar...

Noordin Haji has been sworn in as the NIS director-general at State House, Nairobi a day after House Intelligence Committee gave nod to his nomination as the country’s next spymaster and got Parliament’s approval. President William Ruto presided over the Wednesday, June 14 mornin...

A detailed climate vulnerability and ecosystem assessment study for Nakuru County has strongly recommended that multiple stakeholders and partners provide adequate financing for research work on climate.  A raft of recommendations proposed by the researchers could be a game chang...

After four amazing years, my time in Kenya has ended. I will miss Kenya and Kenyans enormously. I have spent my final weeks reminiscing and reflecting on Kenya. It holds an increasingly important place in the region and world. As British High Commissioner, I have seen the UK-Keny...

In Kibokoni, Kilifi County, fish ponds are a game changer. As ordinary and simple as they are, the ponds are helping a community control the breeding and migration of fish so that they are always guaranteed a catch. Without the ponds, the community would go for days and weeks wit...

When the dry spell hit the country last year, it claimed many casualties. One of them was Lalebo Olepolos Dairy in Narok, which shut down operations for nearly 10 months. Joseph Lomodu, a manager at the dairy, says one of the biggest challenges that they are facing is lack of inf...

The first Kenya Urban Forum (KUF) being held in Naivasha municipality from June 14-16, themed “Strategic pathways to inclusive and sustainable urbanisation in Kenya”, carries the broader theme of “The future is urban”.  Indeed, the 2019 census report put the proportion of urban d...

They say water is life. But, when the available water is a threat to a healthy life, then by extension, it impedes the existence of a whole society. In the country, latest data from the 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census shows that less than half of Kenyans have access to c...

When you drive into the Aberdare National Park from the Muiga gate in Nyeri County, the cold breeze welcomes you to a picturesque view of hills towering above a forested canopy covered in moss and overgrowth. This is a vivid throttle back into the past and you will not help but b...

Last week Kenya kicked up a storm at a climate meeting in Bonn, Germany, when she told her delegates not to engage in Loss and Damage conversations. This sudden change of stance not only left the delegates confused but also worried about what that meant for Kenya’s engagement in ...

Climate experts have backed President William Ruto’s call as he urged the continent to pursue a more assertive climate agenda that strengthens food, energy infrastructure and development. According to the experts, while Africa continues to suffer the destructive effects of climat...

When you drive into the Aberdare National Park from the Muiga gate in Nyeri County, the cold breeze welcomes you to a picturesque view of hills towering above a forested canopy covered in moss and overgrowth. This is a vivid throttle back into the past and you will not help but b...

As it dawns in Urima village, Bondo Sub-County, Siaya County, on a May morning, Jane Akinyi struggles to find her way through an invisible pathway cutting across her flooded compound. For this 55-year-old widow, the aftermath of the April and May downpour in the area has been not...

When the dry spell hit the country last year, it claimed many casualties. One of them was Lalebo Olepolos Dairy in Narok, which shut its operations for nearly 10 months. Joseph Lomodu, a manager at the dairy, says one of the biggest challenges that they are facing is lack of info...

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak proudly announced last week that his government has bought two enormous barges to house up to 1,000 migrants as part of his plan to tackle the flood of would-be asylum-seekers crossing the Channel to England. Television pictures of one of the barges, no...

As a son of the soil who had lived around the lake, and as a sceptical journalist, what he was saying defied reality. How could our jewel in the crown, our beloved Lake Kanyaboli, simply pack up and leave — if the expression was to be taken literally. Isn’t this the playground of...

As it dawns in Urima village, Bondo Sub-County, Siaya County, on a May morning, Jane Akinyi struggles to find her way through an invisible pathway cutting across her flooded compound. For this 55-year-old widow, the aftermath of the April and May downpour in the area has been not...

A self-driving electric ferry set sail in Stockholm on Thursday, making the Swedish capital the world's first city to put the technology to use, the company behind it said. A captain oversees the autonomous craft but doesn't need to touch the controls, and from Monday, the MF Est...

The devastating effects of climate change have severely impacted the survival of rainbow trout fish in Kenya, threatening the species with extinction. Drought and heavy rains are extremes that have negatively affected the species at Kiganjo National Trout Hatchery, a cold-water f...

President "Tackling the devastating effects of climate change requires a sharper focus than ever before. Bolder, collective and innovative action will enable us to leapfrog to a cleaner and more resilient world for all. This is a race we must win," President Ruto said in an offic...

We rely heavily on energy to power our lives in our modern world. However, there's a problem lurking in our energy sources: fossil fuels. These traditional energy sources, such as coal and oil, have served us for centuries. Still, they come with significant drawbacks. Problems as...

Kenya has received cancer diagnosis and treatment machines worth Sh600 million at the ongoing International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) conference in Austria. The Kenyan Ambassador to Austria, Ms Mary Mugwanja, revealed that the Sh600 million Linac machines will arrive in the cou...

Evan Mutungi is a man on a mission — to make a difference in his community in Webuye, Bungoma County, one plastic waste at a time. He makes a living through recycling, turning discarded plastic into construction materials such as vents and roofing rubber. He spent a good part of ...

The World Bank has revived calls to replace diesel-powered passenger and cargo trains on the Chinese-built standard gauge railway (SGR) with electric ones to limit pollution, saying the mega-investment has become economically viable to support the change-over. The multilateral le...

On environmental conservation, Kenya has much to learn from peers. One example is Costa Rica, which had the highest deforestation rates in the 1990s. Unsustainable agricultural expansion and logging led to over 75 per cent loss of forest cover. Kenya is on a similar path, priorit...

Climate change is caused by human activities and is threatening the way people live and the future of our planet. The global agenda on addressing climate change is geared towards building a sustainable world for all of us.  Acting on climate change will improve individual and pub...

Smoke from Canadian wildfires shrouded New York in a record-breaking apocalyptic smog Wednesday as cities along the US East Coast issued air quality alerts and thousands evacuated their homes in Canada. The Big Apple's mayor urged residents to stay indoors as the thick haze of po...

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has urged the United Nations and other agencies to take the lead in ensuring that developing countries like Kenya are adequately compensated for loss and damage caused by climate change. Speaking at a cocktail reception for delegates during the s...

US special climate envoy John Kerry told AFP that the world's population will not be tenable in 2050, when it is projected to hit nearly 10 billion, but refrained from asking Americans to give up steaks. Since November, the global population has officially crossed eight billion, ...

Kenyan negotiators attending the 2023 Bonn UN Climate Change Conference, SB 58 in Germany as well as delegates attending the ongoing five-day UN Habitat Assembly in Nairobi say they are confused over President William Ruto’s new stand and sudden change of tone on loss and damage,...

Jubilee Insurance is deploying several initiatives to integrate environmental sustainability into its business practices, including adoption of paperless operations and fully solar-powered offices in some of its branches, as part of its journey towards becoming carbon neutral by ...

Governor Joseph Lenku has revoked all carbon credit contracts signed between private entities and local communities. The cancellations come at a time when residents have just started raking in millions of shillings from the scheme. Announcing the development by way of a public no...

Aboard a De Havilland Dash 8 Q-400 aircraft, passengers on the 10:45am Jambojet flight from Nairobi to Mombasa on Friday, May 26 took part in an uncommon flying experience. They were part of hundreds of air passengers around the world flying on planes that were on a mission to be...

African countries will use the Africa Climate Summit in September to table their adaptation investment plans and set the tone for this year's United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and Conference of Parties on climate change (COP28). Over 10,000 delegates, including heads of stat...

In Ngaringurwa Village, off Nanyuki – Rumuruti Road and three kilometres to the Ewaso Nyiro River in the heart of Laikipia County, Moses Mwenda, a smallholder farmer, is recycling waste plastic bottles to grow tomatoes on his two-acre piece of land. The plastic bottles are key to...

Chances are you are seated on a plastic chair, drinking from a plastic cup or water bottle. Obviously, you are holding a plastic pen. If your breakfast was packaged in plastic, you are unlikely to reuse it.  Whether at home or in the office, when you look around you, plastics cle...

President William Ruto wants the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28 ) that will be held in Dubai later this year to be the last Conference of Parties (COP) meeting  the world holds. President Ruto believes that the meetings have not yielded much and must wor...

Eastern is leading the eight regions of the country in commitment to reforestation, marking an encouraging progress in the national tree planting campaign. According to statistics from the Ministry of Interior, Eastern Kenya planted 4,377,362 trees in the last five months, follow...

First Lady Rachel Ruto has urged Kenyans to embrace clean cooking technology to reduce pressure on the existing forest cover in the country. She expressed concern over the continuous cutting of trees and the degradation of forests, which she said will greatly disturb the country'...

Nation Media Group (NMG) in partnership with Green Blue Foundation Africa (GBFA) and the Hindu Religious Service Centre on Sunday organised a 12km walk in Ngong’, Kajiado County, for health and environment to raise awareness on the importance of a healthy environment. The partner...

Rift Valley Institute of Science and Technology (RVIST) dominated the World Federation of Colleges and Polytechnics (WFCP) gala awards in Montreal, Canada where Kenya scooped four awards. RVIST won a gold award in the SDGs Award category in the excellence awards that attracted 18...

I’m in the profession I dreamed of when I was a child. My childhood dream was to be a news anchor. My recent most recent success is becoming one of the first Kenyan Golden Globes International voters, in 2023 and getting retained for 2024 as well. People perceive Gen Z as 'know...

Ms Bilha Munyole, a farmer in Kimilili, Bungoma County, was taking a walk around her maize plantation when the ‘Seeds of Gold’ team visited her home on a Thursday morning. If the rains continue, Ms Munyole, who hails from Kibingei, hopes to harvest at least 20 bags of maize from ...

From a distance, it looks like a beautiful vegetable garden, but the reality is far from alluring. Wakulima Market in Nairobi, also known as Marikiti, is a place that never sleeps.  Here farmers meet buyers, and money is exchanged for fruits and vegetables. But this exchange is n...

Kenya turned 60 years old yesterday. For the women and girls of Kenya, this was a day to pause and reflect on their accomplishments from 1963. The 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census said women comprise 50.5 per cent of the total population. Nevertheless, their representatio...

Isaac Kasonde describes himself as hardworking, driven and possessing a solid understanding of his life’s goals and aspirations. In 2018, just after completing high school at Westwood International School in Botswana, where he grew up, the Kenyan embarked on a journey to establis...

It is only 9am, but already the sun is high in the sky and Lad Devi and her co-workers at the Dooni dairy cooperative are hard at it. As milk arrives from the surrounding farms, they work quickly to get it weighed and into the refrigerators without which it would spoil within hou...

On March 24, 1989, an oil tanker called Exxon Valdez struck a reef shortly past midnight at William Sound, Alaska, and spilled about 42 million litres of crude oil. The spill, then considered the largest in the history of the United States, threatened more than a million migrator...

By James Murimi and Mercy Mwende At a three-day International Conference on Climate Change and Sustainable Development hosted by In particular, he called on researchers in the continent to keep coming up with new climate change mitigation strategies, saying: “Our planet is facing...

By Pauline Kairu Persistent drought over the past four years in Kenya’s 23 arid and semi-arid lands (Asals) left millions facing starvation, malnutrition, and death of livestock. Other climate change effects such as flash floods, plus resource-use conflicts and lack of coherent p...

Humankind has always deployed various strategies to grow more food to feed an ever-expanding human population. As early as 8,000 years ago, farmers were allegedly using manure, an organic form of fertiliser, to enrich the soil for cultivation. But modern fertilisers are relativel...

The European Commission is adopting intermediate proposals in its international climate policy, outlined in the European Green Deal that provides a road map for a socioecological transition to a low-carbon future and building blocks for a green economic growth strategy to address...

Members of the United States Congress and the European Parliament are calling for the president of the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) to be replaced because of his involvement in fossil fuel production. Sultan Al Jaber, who was appointed COP28 president earlier this year,...

Acute food insecurity is likely to worsen in Kenya and 18 hunger hotspots covering 22 countries, a United Nations outlook report for June to November warns. The report's findings show that, in addition to Kenya, Pakistan, the Central African Republic, Ethiopia, the Democratic Rep...

In the arid regions of Eastern Kenya, pastoralists like Ibrahim Koinet have relied on their livestock to survive for generations. But with the effects of climate change, the challenges of keeping their animals alive have become increasingly a burden. Unpredictable rainfall patter...

Global food prices are at an all-time high with severe impacts on many developing countries, Kenya included. It is hoped the extreme price boom will be short-lived. Experts attribute the situation to supply chain disruptions and climate change. Other ingredients of the recipe for...

Plastic pollution has become a global crisis, with devastating impacts on our environment and human health. As nations strive to address this issue, innovative solutions are emerging, such as plastic exchanges and the concept of plastic credits. In Kenya, a country known for its ...

Coal and fuel energy are still the main sources of energy and are considered crucial ingredients for economic development but with adverse effects on the environment and economies. It’s time for green energy. Over-reliance on the oft-imported fossil fuels increases greenhouse gas...

There is widespread use of agrochemicals in Kenya that have been banned from being applied in European farms because of health and environmental risks, an investigation reveals. Farmers we spoke to said the chemicals have predisposed them to diseases besides degrading their land ...

Oil-dependent Iraq has been warned its economy risks going into "intensive care" unless it diversifies in line with worldwide efforts to tackle the impact of fossil fuels on the climate. The country's vast oil reserves are enough to produce crude at current rates for another cent...

Scaling the top of Mt Everest isn’t for the faint-hearted. And no, Dr Faith Mwende isn’t about to surrender her quest to get to the summit and The Mt Everest peak stands at 8,849 metres high and Mwende, a scholar and financial Here, she and her team were going through rotations -...

Scientists predict that two billion people (22% of the projected population by the end of the century) will be exposed to dangerous heat conditions if we stay on track to reach 2.7°C of global warming. New findings highlighting the human cost of climate inaction, led by researche...

The Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement System (KUCCPS) has opened its application portal for the 2022 KCSE candidates to revise their course choices and submit their new choices for consideration in placement in universities and colleges published in their portal. ...

By Quiller Brooke and Elijah Munyi Perceptions of commercial forestry are changing, with government shifts driving opportunities for growth. After realising the Vision 2030 target of 10 percent national tree cover, the government has extended its ambition to 30 percent by 2050. F...

Mitigating climate change through forestry was first proposed in the 1970s, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). However, it would take more than a decade for international negotiations to consider the same at the national level, calling for the "definition a...

Climate change has become one of the defining issues of our generation as the world races to protect the planet and its citizens from the disastrous effects of rising global temperatures. However, in the race to reverse the effects of climate change, climate misinformation has re...

More than half of the over 2,000 public health events recorded in Kenya and Africa were climate-related, the World Health Assembly has been told. This has now pushed African governments represented by their health ministers, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WH...

The UN Women office in Kenya has launched a three-year strategic plan to accelerate the gender equality push. Country director Anna Mutavati revealed that the 2023-26 plan covers four thematic areas. She spoke during its launch in a Nairobi hotel. The plan has been aligned to nat...

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a United States public organisation, recently released a report outlining the dire health implications of climate change for children, including elevated rates of respiratory diseases, reduced academic performance, increased infection ra...

President William Ruto yesterday called on Kenya Kwanza lawmakers to pass the controversial Finance Bill, 2023 in its totality, a move that could lead to a fierce fight with the Opposition. The meeting came on the day the Senate resumed its sittings after a month’s recess, and wi...

It might be hard to believe, but conversations around the possibility of human activities affecting climate patterns began in the 1800s. However, the conversations sparked curiosity, rather than concern. In the 1950s, scientists began experimenting and producing data-backed “clai...

In March, the Energy and Petroleum Regulation Authority (Epra) released newly approved electricity tariffs following the submission of a retail tariff application (RTA) for the 4th Tariff Control Period by Kenya Power. That was a shot in the arm for the e-mobility sector as a spe...

When Ratemo Mabeya, 26, founded the Green Global Footprint Initiative two years ago, his intention was to get rid of societal misconceptions about transitioning into green energy. His mission particularly was to sensitise local communities and the next generation of electric vehi...

The climate change threat affects every country but some are more vulnerable than others. Kenya is one of them, facing the impacts of rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, droughts, floods, sea level rise and pests. These have dire consequences for the natural environment, socio...

Waste disposal is a headache for industrialising economies. And with the new government and an anticipated economic boom, waste creation is likely to shoot up, hence the need for an effective waste management system. Here, waste is refuse—any object or substance that one has no u...

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) was launched to support developing countries’ efforts to encourage and promote climate change adaptation and mitigation. However, it has been a disappointment to the intended beneficiaries. To access GCF money, a project must be processed by “accredit...

President William Ruto has defied expectations on the international stage, striking crucial deals in meetings with some of the world’s most powerful leaders in his nine months in power. It was never seen this way and pundits, at his inauguration day, expressed worries that his la...

At the heart of East Africa, amidst the breathtaking landscapes of Kenya, a delicate dance is taking place—a balancing act of epic proportions. It is a quest to safeguard the country’s remarkable biodiversity, ensuring that nature’s marvels thrive for generations. Kenya’s commitm...

May 20 was the annual World Metrology Day. The world commemorates the signing of Metre Convention by 17 nations on May 20, 1875. The convention set the framework for global collaboration—and, hence, uniformity—in the science of measurement and its industrial, commercial and socie...

The world must urgently assess the impact of generative artificial intelligence, G7 leaders said Saturday, announcing they will launch discussions this year on "responsible" use of the technology. A working group will be set up to tackle issues from copyright to disinformation, t...

With the reality of competing governance interests dawning on President William Ruto, his administration seems to have abandoned populist pledges made on the campaign trail to win the hearts and minds of voters. And apart from abandoning specific populist promises, whose timeline...

President William Ruto’s recent speech in South Africa, where he advocated against the age-old situation in which African leaders and their respective countries have been repeatedly bullied by their more powerful global partners, brings into perspective the emergent generation of...

Small-scale farmers on the continent stand a high chance of lifting themselves from poverty and hunger after the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (Agra) trained 653 scientists to produce high quality seeds. The scientists have developed and released varieties that will s...

One billion people in 43 countries are at risk of cholera -- a "pandemic killing the poor" -- despite prevention and treatment being relatively straightforward, the United Nations warned on Friday. The most heavily affected countries so far this year are Malawi and Mozambique. Ni...

Last year, in Berlin, Kenyan athletics great Eliud Kipchoge broke the World Marathon Record by clocking two hours, one minute and nine seconds, improving his previous best time by 30 seconds. Kipchoge’s immense success, handing him legendary status not only in Kenya but globally,...

Had I been in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Wednesday this week, I too would have given President William Ruto a standing ovation for his highly articulate keynote address delivered at the third Pan-African Parliamentary Summit, which focused on Climate Policy and Equity. It was...

Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning British monarch, was rarely known to publicly express her irritation or anger.  However, in an unguarded moment, a live microphone caught her expressing her frustration with the inaction of world leaders on climate change. This was done in...

Conservationists have raised the alarm over the rapidly depleting cheetah population in the world-famous Maasai Mara Game Reserve, with numbers of the big cats dropping by 31 per cent over the past two years, according to a study. The survey released by the Mara Predator Conserva...

Kilifi County has long been a region of striking contrasts. On the one hand, it boasts some of the most beautiful natural landscapes in Kenya, with touristy destinations and a lush interior dotted with indigenous trees and teeming with wildlife. But on the other hand, it has also...

Scientists say the increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has caused the oceans to trap more energy from the sun, absorbing more heat and causing surface temperatures to rise. As the world works to avert the effects of ocean warming, misinformed social media users are cla...

Nation Media Group Foundation, an offshoot of Nation Media Group(NMG), is set to launch a public library in Ngong town, Kajiado County, in the next three months, according to Clifford Machoka, head of external affairs at NMG. The bid to build a library is driven by the goal of fo...

At least five Kenyan startups are in line to get more than Sh400 million in funding from Yunus Social Business (YSB), a Germany-based social enterprise organization that supports enterprises leveraging technology to address poverty, food security, climate change and other concern...

Mr Orengo warned residents that an unhygienic environment poses serious health risks. Roseline Orwa, the founder of Rona Foundation, a widows' rights organisation that has partnered with a local youth group to run a climate change project in Bondo Sub-county, said the governor al...

Carbon dioxide emissions have been mainly blamed for being the leading contributor to global warming and climate change. The rise in carbon dioxide levels began during the industrial revolution, when, according to the National Geographic Society, the world was transitioning from ...

The world is still nowhere near the elimination of child marriage, a report by the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) suggests. A Unicef study estimates that 640 million girls and women alive today were married in childhood. Further, nearly half of child brides live in South...

In the past few weeks, Nairobi has hosted high-profile guests, including the Japanese Prime Minister, IMF managing director and Canada’s Foreign minister. Nairobi is the only capital in the Global South to host United Nations offices—the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP...

Climate change has been proven by scientists to be caused by carbon dioxide, a heat-trapping gas that comes from burning of fossil fuels. However, climate change denialists intent on derailing the climate debate, have claimed that there is no correlation between climate change an...

The 100m African record holder Ferdinand Omanyala has urged athletes and other stakeholders to plant trees saying the environment plays a key role in sports. Omanyala, who will be competing in the 100m race during the Absa Kip Keino Classic on Saturday at the Moi International Sp...

A Kenyan scientist from the International Livestock Research Institute (Ilri) has developed a Web-based tool to help the government track and self-report on climate adaptation progress in livestock systems. The tool, called Tails – Tracking Adaptation in Livestock Systems – was d...

Back in 1956, when John McCarthy, then an assistant professor of mathematics at Dartmouth College, sat with a group of professors and scientists to explore the possibility of simulating human intelligence with machines, he did not envisage that the long brainstorming session woul...

As a little girl at Mount Elgon Academy in Kitale town, Trans Nzoia County, Ms Cynthia Sitati, a climate change adaptation scientist, hoped that future generations would continue enjoying Mt Elgon’s scenic view that her school was named after . She was naïve and never foresaw the...

As a little girl growing up in the 1970s, Phyllis Nduva saw her neighbours make a fortune by growing and selling castor beans. “We grew up hearing that castor beans are the raw material for jet fuel. Only a handful of farmers took the cash crop seriously,” she would recall decade...

An alarming number of 13.4 million infants globally were born prematurely in 2020, and close to 1 million of these succumbed to early birth complications. This is according to a freshly unveiled report by United Nations affiliates. The data translates to nearly 1 in 10 babies bei...

In a landmark initiative, Ponty Pridd Holdings, a pioneer in the transport and logistics industry, has committed to planting a million trees by 2025, a move that would position them as one of Africa's first carbon-neutral logistics companies. Anthony Wainaina, Managing Director o...

Cape Town, Scientists have disclosed that in developed countries nine out of ten pre-term babies survive while in developing countries the reverse is true. This comes after the World Health Organisation (WHO) disclosed that the climate crisis is fueling respiratory diseases (incl...

Levi Juma, 37, is a project management specialist with vast experience in programme design, management, implementation and community engagements both at local and national level. The University of Nairobi and Kenya Institute of Management alumnus has over 10 years’ experience in ...

Food security and hunger in Kenya will be fully addressed if farming systems, which are currently largely rain-fed, are reviewed.  Speaking during the official opening of the Agri-Africa Expo and Conference yesterday at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairo...

The government is fast-tracking development of a regulatory framework for carbon credit business as the country seeks to raise significant revenue to fight climate change. While Kenya is rated top in Africa in sale of carbon credits, the country lacks regulations for buying and s...

I’m glad you asked me this question because I think there are some misconceptions about who I am, what I bring to the table, and the full range of my experience across the energy value chain. My first chief executive role was to establish Masdar, which is one of the largest inves...

Modern industrial agriculture, that has seen farmers use synthetic fertilisers and chemical pesticides started more than 200 years ago, then praised as the easiest and most effective way of increasing yields that would feed a growing human population. Industrial agriculture is de...

Women climate justice activists have called out false solutions imposed on Africans by international institutions and multinationals on the pretext of helping communities adapt to extreme weather patterns. The activists gathered at a Nairobi hotel last week for a two-day conferen...

A deal in the works between Kenya and Germany could see Berlin open its doors for Kenyans to take up some of the 250,000 jobs slots available to meet the European nation’s huge labour needs, President William Ruto announced yesterday. President Ruto was speaking from State House,...

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) was meant to provide some funding for solutions to the climate change crisis impacting developing countries. This, however, has not happened, owing to the glaring inefficiencies of the fund. National designated authorities and direct access entities i...

For a country that has several key United Nations agencies to be chosen to host yet another one is a big honour. Kenya is home to the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep) and UN-Habitat headquarters, giving it some prominence in the international community. Unep’s establis...

By Gilbert Houngbo, Director-General of the International Labour Organisation May 1 is widely known as Labour Day, an occasion for celebrating the contributions of workers worldwide. It is a moment of pride, celebration and hope. After three years of the Covid-19 crisis, followed...

Increasing the budget allocation to support small holder farmers’ linkages with modern technology and research findings is critical, in their contribution of 80 per cent of the total food consumed within Sub Saharan Africa.   Experts in food sufficiency are urging governments in ...

It is 8.30am when we arrive at the freshly built water point in Tingasap village, about 30 kilometres from Maralal town in Samburu County. This is Loosuk Water Supply Project in Samburu North Constituency, which was recently constructed by a well-wisher, much to the happiness of ...

Kenya will be home to another United Nations agency. The UN made the announcement on Wednesday following a visit to the region by UN Under-Secretary-General and new UNOPS Executive Director Jorge Moreira da Silva and UNOPS Acting Regional Director for Africa Dalila Goncalves. The...

The World Intellectual Property Day was marked on April 26 under the theme ‘Women and IP: Accelerating Innovation and Creativity’ to draw attention to women’s roles in scientific work, art, business and general societal transformation. This brings to mind the concept of indigenou...

With the rapid growth of the human population across the globe, the demand for meat and value-added products are expected to increase. The tremendous growth, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Co-operatives, offers Kenya a platform to explore more ...

On a normal day at Wetemere village in Mpeketoni, Lamu County, where women are famed for riding motorcycles, a new love for cotton has arisen. In farms, it is now a common sight to find both men and women bent, with sisal bags on their backs, oblivious of the hot sun, harvesting ...

Kenya will in four months’ time resolve double taxation concerns that have affected projects funded by Japan. The standoff on double taxation has blocked Sh10 billion in financing for several projects funded by Japan.  Speaking during a visit by Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishi...

For any environmentalist, a look at some of the forests in Homa Bay causes pain. Other sections of some forests have also been burnt by wildfires while others encroached by families living at the edge of the forests. Another challenge that threatens tree cover in the county is th...

President William Ruto is under pressure to implement a pay rise for thousands of government workers who are under pressure from the high living costs, a key pre-election promise that he made and is struggling to make good on against a cash crunch that has caused civil service sa...

One hundred metres underground inside a pit in northern China, miners extract lumps of coal with the flick of a finger on a smartphone, as the country tries to drag the traditionally dangerous and dirty work into the digital era. The Hongliulin "intelligent mine" in coal-belt Sha...

The three economic activities in Narok – agriculture, tourism and livestock keeping – are all tied to climate change. “To revive the economy of Narok and tourism in the Maasai Mara environmental conservation is key,” says Elizaphan Ogechi, the Executive Director at Nguzo Africa. ...

Extreme poverty is on the rise. Some 719 million people — 9.2 per cent of the world’s population — are living in extreme poverty, on less than $2.15 a day. The vast majority of the estimated 10 per cent of the world population struggling with extreme poverty is largely concentrat...

I want to tell you about a certain gentleman today. This person lived in a lower-middle-class estate back in the day, where there were many houses and children packed together, but little by way of recreational facilities for the kids. As a result, the children played mostly on t...

Dr Faith Mwende is a scholar and financial expert with a grand dream: To be the first ever Kenyan woman to reach the peak of Mt Everest, the world’s tallest mountain. And she’s halfway through, having this week landed at the iconic Base Camp which rests at 5,364 metres high, much...

The Netherlands has called upon Kenya to lead the mediation talks between the warring parties in Sudan’s conflict on behalf of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development in Eastern Africa, lest the effects of the war spill beyond the country’s borders and affect the elusive ...

The number of households affected by the current raging floods in Kisumu has now hit 725 as rains continue to pound most parts of the county. The most affected areas are Kolwa Central, Kolwa East and Kajulu wards in Kisumu East. Others are Nyalenda B in Kisumu Central, Ombeyi war...

Two people from Kisumu have sued Governor Anyang' Nyong'o over what they term irregular short-listing of 10 chief officers. Mr George Abwajo, secretary of the Kisumu County Budget and Economic Forum, and Mr Phillip Pande, a champion of good governance, are demanding that the coun...

Kenya is seeking the expertise of Swedish scientists to help prepare adequate focal points for the upcoming Climate Summit. Environment Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya, who is visiting Swedish capital Stockholm has asked the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), involved in enviro...

The recent food and water poisoning incidents in schools that led to the deaths of several students and a teacher were the subject of performances at the Kenya National Drama and Film Festival in Mombasa.  One of the productions sent the audience at the Shanzu Teachers Training C...

The behemoth called climate change has an array of boom and boon, or profits and losses, that are economically quantifiable. Climate financing is one of the pragmatic harvests to the impuissant nations. It strives to address climate change mitigation and adaptation. The Kyoto Pro...

The idea of weather modification was seen in the 1940s as a promising science that could be used to change the weather. Today, weather modification continues. The most common method, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is cloud seeding. Howeve...

Climate change has in recent years been declared a major challenge and as a global emergency amid increasing cases of climate disasters that have led to the death and displacement of thousands of people. As the world seeks ways to adapt and mitigate the effects of climate change,...

As the G20 summit approaches amidst a global turmoil, whether the African Union (AU) will be invited to just participate or also join as a member remains elusive. India is definitely committed to strengthening its relationship with Africa and its closer involvement in the G20 pro...

The Rift Valley Institute of Science and Technology is among three Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions in Kenya that have been nominated for various awards by the World Federation of Colleges and Polytechnics (WFCP). WFCP 2023 Awards of Excellence ...

On January 29, this year, The Weekly Sceptic Live magazine ran an article titled: “Scientists Struggle to Understand Why Antarctica Hasn’t Warmed for Over 70 Years Despite Rise in CO The article alleged that the continent of Antarctica has shown zero net warming for the last 70 y...

I was privileged to visit South Africa with a team on an exposure visit in December 2022. Our task was to look at the booming furniture industry there and what lessons we could bring back home and implement. That visit has remained the most eye-opening experience regarding sustai...

Perceptions of commercial forestry are changing, with government shifts driving opportunities for growth. After realising the Vision 2030 target of 10 per cent national tree cover, the government has extended its ambition to 30 per cent by 2050. Forestry is also expected to play ...

It is a case of the apple that fell not so far from the tree. But Wanjira Mathai, the daughter of Nobel Peace laureate Wangari Maathai, prefers not to look at it from this lens. “I am basking in her light,” she says. “She instilled this in us. I was always inspired by whatever sh...

Perhaps Cleotilda Jemutai was always born to be a star. For starters, she is a model. If that doesn’t turn your head, then know this: she is also an agriculturalist, svelte yet athletic, another petite girl made larger than life by her exploits and hard work. Tough and flinty and...

Growing up in Chavakali, Vihiga County, Jackline Lidubwi wanted to be a teacher, just like her father. Despite her keen interest in listening to the radio at her younger age, she did not know of any learning institution that taught journalism at the time, so she was convinced tha...

My name is Faith Mwende is a financial expert with a grand dream: To be the first ever Kenyan woman to reach the peak of Mt Everest, the world’s tallest mountain. My campaign revolves around sustainable ways of mitigating against the negative effects of climate change while advoc...

Even as Kenya grapples with the challenge of food insecurity following six failed crop seasons, the country also boasts a diversity of indigenous food varieties.  For most Kenyans, food entails exotic vegetables and cereals. Collard greens, spinach and cabbage constitute the vege...

A new report by World Food Programme (WFP) says climate change has contributed to violent conflict in multiple settings across Kenya and this is expected to continue as the impacts of climate change worsen. The report titled ‘Climate Security Study in Kenya’ says conflict is a ma...

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 ...

This centre will test technology under local conditions where farmers can see real-life examples of the best agricultural practices and adopt new knowledge. They will then become more resilient and counter the increasing climatic challenges facing them like like armyworms, locust...

Kenya, like the rest of the world, is grappling with the effects of climate change.  This has manifested in numerous challenges, including droughts, floods and food insecurity. The Kenyan government has taken some steps to mitigate the effects of climate change through such measu...

Scientists have attributed global warming and climate change mainly to human activities, such as burning of fossil fuels. Following an article by Australian scientists, that the earth’s magnetic poles triggered massive climatic shifts 42,000 years ago, leading to changes in the e...

Geo engineering, which is defined by the University of Oxford as “the deliberate large-scale intervention in the Earth’s natural systems to counteract climate change” is a subject of contention among experts in the field of climate science.   The first use of the team was in the ...

Kenya boasts five major water towers spread throughout the country: the Mau Water Complex, Mt Kenya, the Aberdares, Mt Elgon and the Cherangani Hills water towers. These ecosystems have been crucial to Kenya’s development. For instance, the agricultural sector, which is one of th...

Human life is sacred and every individual deserves an equal chance in life. We have a common desire, we all want to lead a free, fulfilling existence, with dignity, where our basic needs are met, with opportunities to advance and equal treatment under the law. These are fundament...

A final instalment of a major global scientific report on climate change asks governments to fact-track climate action by implementing available options that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The fourth part of the Sixth Assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Cli...

Sharon Onyango, 28, is an urban climate scientist. Sharon has a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science and Landscape Technology from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), and a Master’s in Landscape Planning and Conservation from the same un...

Experts have termed climate change as one of the most contributing factors to cholera outbreaks in Africa. This comes at a time when Kenya has recorded more than 4,000 cases of cholera since the outbreak on October 10 last year. Droughts and tropical storms have affected the avai...

Malaria-causing mosquitoes in the country have been flying high lately. Erstwhile, the tiny insects loved breeding in Kenya’s lowland areas, mostly in western, coastal and some parts of the Rift Valley. But lately, they are moving away from those regions and climate change is to ...

Kenya’s Eva Makandi, founder of Light on a Hill Organization (LOAH), has been recognised as one of 16 women leading the charge against climate and biodiversity crises. The Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) honoured Ms Makandi, 29, along with the other women, on International Women's ...

The chief executive officer of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, one of the world’s largest oil companies, has dismissed concerns of greenwashing fossil fuels, arguing instead that the oil and gas industry is crucial to solving the climate challenge. Dr Sultan al-Jaber made the rem...

Ask anyone in Nairobi right now and they will tell you how much the current heat wave has stretched their endurance levels.  It is certainly the hottest weather witnessed in the capital city in recent times, coupled with windy and dusty conditions.  We continue to wait for the lo...

Experts at the ongoing Africa Health Agenda International Conference (AHAIC 2023) have predicted that malaria and cholera will prominently feature in diseases brought about by climate change. Speaking during the official opening of the conference in Kigali, Rwanda, Dr Ahmed Ogwel...

The nasty weather continues to batter us. Most of Africa is still scorching hot, with livestock being wasted. Kenya remains in the grip of its sixth rain-poor year, although a few days ago, the skies spat some drizzles in the South Rift and parts of the Nyanza region. The meteoro...

Sub-Saharan African countries could easily respond to the climate crisis by making good use of the opportunities offered by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to fight food insecurity. According to Valere Nzeyimana, Senior Water Development and Management Officer (FAO) R...

Climate change poses threat to ecosystems around the world. There are fears of a possible loss of biodiversity. This in turn has retarded the economies of poor and wealthy countries. Wallace Ashimbi, an agronomist and project field officer with the Anglican Development Services (...

The fall in the catch of lobster is driving the fishermen in Kipini, Tana River County, into abject poverty. The fishermen are blaming this on the changing climatic conditions at sea, which they have no control over, as well as foreign fishing vessels, that have made the once-luc...

Climate change is changing weather patterns and disrupting the balance of nature, posing risks to every other form of life on earth. But for those in substance use prevention, the big question is what the effects of climate change portend to efforts to slow down or even, albeit a...

The reality of climate change is slowly sinking in, and its impact is spreading to disease. A new study published in the scientific journal Biology Letters shows that the tiny mosquitoes, which transmit malaria, may now and in the future thrive in areas where they never existed b...

Sea level rise due to climate change is likely to displace 900 million people globally, especially those living in low lying Coastlines, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said. While addressing the security council last week, Mr Guterres said the sea level ris...

The High Court in Milimani Nairobi has suspended President William Ruto's decision to nominate Emily Mwende Waita, John Kioli, Umar Omar and George Odera Outa as members of the National Climate Change Council (NCCC). The interim order issued by Justice Mugure Thande bars the nomi...

Climate change appears to be dishing out more boon than boom to communities, regions and nations. One of its quandaries is increased insecurity, orchestrated by the scarcity of essential commodities and trade imbalances. Being from Kerio Valley and having grown up through cattle ...

The invention of the greenhouse has been credited to a French botanist called Charles Lucien Bonaparte, who is said to have built the first one in Leiden, Holland, in the 17th century to grow medicinal tropical plants. Now, they are often used to raise plants from seed, under ide...

In the face of impending catastrophe, whose warning signs are already unbearably disastrous, weak action is unwise. No action is dangerous.” The national government is the starting point for climate change mitigation. I posit that the department will be well funded going by the P...

At the close of 2022, extended periods of heavy rainfall were recorded in Southern California, Central coast (California) and Nevada, USA, leading to floods that have led to loss of lives, destruction of property and declaration of a state of emergency on January 4, 2023. However...

Mohammed Kassim is a man on a mission. He starts his day by the shores of the Indian Ocean, where he finds satisfaction in reconciling nature. His office sits on Wasini Island located at Kenya's South Coast and he is part of the Beach Management Unit (BMU) as secretary of their o...

When people talk about climate change today, they often tend to mean man-made or anthropogenic climate change, which refers to the global rise of the earth’s temperature as a result of human activities. More than 97 per cent of scientists all over the world agree that climate cha...

On June 13, 2022, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene Representing Georgia's 14th District went on the ‘Right Side Broadcasting Network’ to argue in favor of carbon emissions and global warming. During the interview, she said that earth warming and carbon are healthy for us. She...

This year's United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) will take place at Expo City Dubai from November 30th to December 12th, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) who are the hosts have announced. This comes barely days after Kenyan climate activists and experts expressed shock ...

Global warming has been blamed for causing heatwaves and extreme temperatures, which is understandable since temperature records have shown that the earth has warmed more than one degree Celsius. However, the same phenomenon is to blame for cold temperatures as well. Advances in ...

A new study published by Harvard School of Public Health has shown that extreme temperatures, caused by climate change, are linked with heart disease deaths. This is contrary to a claim by a social media user who claimed that heart failure due to climate change is a joke and is a...

Kenya’s annual greenhouse gas emissions are low, at less than a tonne per person, or less than 100 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2), of which a third is from deforestation. Fossil fuels—gas, oil and coal—contribute the most to global climate change, at over 75 per cent of g...

Kenyan climate activists and experts have criticised the United Arab Emirates' decision to pick Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Corporation (ADNOC) to serve as the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) president. This comes as the country warms...

Pilot Lenaigwanai covers her mouth as she speaks, trying to hide her broken tooth, a bitter reminder of all she endured before finding refuge at a shelter for abuse survivors in northern Kenya. The mother of three arrived here last July after being forced from her home by escalat...

Kaimosi Friends University and the Vihiga devolved government are at an advanced stage of setting up an institute to boost training and research on the environment and the adverse effects of climate change. The institute will be run by the Climate Change and Geospatial Informatio...

Last November, the United Nations 27th Climate Conference (COP27) adopted a landmark decision on establishing the Loss and Damage fund for the most vulnerable communities in developing countries. This decision is welcome news.  Many communities in developing countries remain vuln...

It is now acceptable to qualify climate change as a global problem with no physical boundaries. Although the issue is political across the world, the fact remains that Kenya’s climate is changing and we need to document the events as they unfold.  Over the past decade, the countr...

Even though Kenya contributes less than 0.1 per cent of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, it has policies and measures to pursue a low-carbon and resilient development pathway to realise its Vision 2030 to transform the country into a newly industrialising, middle-income eco...

Now that millions of students are on a long school holiday, it is important to have them play a role in mitigating the effects of climate change.  In Kenya alone, thousands of hectares of forests have been lost to deforestation, increasing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmo...

Kenya has experienced frequent droughts every 10 years since 1904 when records in the country began; but since 2001 they have occurred every three to five years. The current drought in Kenya was declared a national emergency by the government, with the arid and semi areas in the ...

Finding sustainable solutions to climate change requires everyone’s input, not just figures and experts. We must take into account what matters to all, especially children. The recent COP27 conference was insightful to engage with different viewpoints. Unfortunately, the voices a...

On the sidelines of the just concluded United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, Vihiga County impressed delegates by how it is tackling the crisis....

On November 3, 2022 at 11.44pm, a twitter user by the name Osama_otero posted that “Drought in Kenya is not a climate change issue. It is a food management issue.” His tweet, which garnered 29 retweets, two quote tweets and 118 likes, is, however, false, as Kenya’s Ministry of En...

On December 2, 2022, a twitter user by the name Dr Matthew M. Wieclicki posted that there is no climate emergency, that there has been no increase in extreme weather events and that less people die from climate related disasters today than ever before.  The tweet, which was retwe...

Balanced nutrition is good both for animal health and for lowering greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, scientists have found out. A team of researchers based at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Nairobi, using calliandra shrub as a protein source, have found in...

The world faces precarious yet interesting challenges, weeks after leaders and experts gathered in Egypt to deliberate on solutions to global warming. At the core of the solutions is health. Scientists say climate change poses an existential threat to human well-being and planeta...

On November 8, 2022 at 5.10pm, a twitter user by the name Peter Sweden posted that climate change is not a threat to humanity, that climate change will not make humanity extinct and that climate change is a scam by the elite to gain total control. Climate change, which is defined...

The Kusi Ideas Festival closed yesterday with calls to the government, private sector and communities to seek innovations and solutions to fight climate change. US ambassador Meg Whitman said every tenth of a degree warming averted means less drought, less flooding, less sea leve...

Climate change poses a grave challenge that calls for global solidarity, as the consequences know no borders. However, there is little progress being made despite high-profile forums such as the recent United Nations climate change meeting in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-...

Climate change experts have said that solutions to climate change will be best driven by communities that are at the heart of experiencing effects of climate change. Speaking at Kusi Ideas Festival at Karura forest, where climate champions gathered to share ideas, Ms Alice Ruhwez...

African nations have been urged to do more to fund climate change mitigation even as they wait for developed countries to fulfil their pledges on funding. This was said at the fourth edition of the Kusi Ideas Festival at Karura Forest in Nairobi, which brings together environment...

Distributed Power Africa (DPA) Kenya Limited has obtained Sh332 million in funding from Mirova SunFunder to roll out solar energy solutions to commercial and industrial According to the Chief Executive Officer of DPA, Norman Moyo, the funding will help the renewable energy distri...

Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi is calling for the adoption of modern technology to boost food security. Speaking during the ongoing United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Council meeting in Rome, Italy, Mr Linturi appealed ...

One may have easily mistaken Nana Firman for the hundreds of volunteers working at the recently concluded in the Sharm El-Sheikh, in Egypt. But the Muslim woman from the US, dressed in an orange hijab and a matching long black gown, was always on the move crisscrossing the massiv...

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are a sure way of satiating the consumptive needs of the society in the face of climate change. GMOs make readily available all year round food, medication and industrial products at a fairer deal than natural organics. They are simply a mean...

A recent study carried out in Sri Lanka has established that Miami blue butterfly is at risk of going extinct because of shifting rainfall patterns occasioned by climate change. The study, which was conducted by a group of researchers at North Carolina State University simulated ...

The world converged for COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, to deliberate on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, build resilience and adapt to the impact of climate change, as well as to discuss financing of climate action. However, some people wonder why there is a climate emer...

Smallholder farmers have been urged to tap into digital technologies to access information to improve efficiency and boost crop yields. Consequently, he said With the adoption of innovative digital tools, they will be able tol enhance the ability to grow sufficient food. Mercy Co...

The government of Kenya via its delegation to the 27th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) held in Egypt took centre stage. The President delivered remarks on behalf of both the nation and Africa, calling out the international community’s slowness in kee...

The ongoing debate about climate change, disappearing forests, increased carbon levels and lack of food is something that should worry everyone.  But what should worry us more is what we have allowed to be done and by whom. We have allowed the political class to take the lead and...

Intermittent rainfall patterns resulting from climate change have made once-cherished agriculture a nightmare for residents of Tana River County. Pests and diseases have not made it any better, wreaking havoc on most farms, and leaving farmers in a desperate position. Some have h...

Over the past two weeks, world leaders have converged in Egypt for the 2022 Framework Convention on Climate Change, better known as COP27. The convention is an inspiring demonstration of continuing global efforts towards facilitating more decisive individual and collective action...

An Indian firm in partnership with Multimedia University has embarked on an ambitious plan to distribute over 10 million improved jikos to poor households across the 47 counties from December as part of the efforts to tackle climate change. The first beneficiary counties of the p...

As the 27th UN Climate Change Conference continues in the Egyptian city of Sharm El Sheikh comes into its final stretch, one of the biggest agenda for Africa and the rest of the developing world was climate financing, as well as pushing the developed world to honour the Paris Agr...

Africa can rebuild from the Covid-19 pandemic and climate crises in ways that align with Agenda 2063 and comply with the ambition of the Paris Agreement to keep the rise in global temperatures under 1.5 degrees Celsius, the African Union Commission has said. The commission conven...

Tension. Fury. Disappointment. This has been the aura at the ongoing climate summit after drafts of the possible outcome started streaming in on Wednesday evening. Today is the make-or-break day for the highly touted “African COP” being held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. Ideally, th...

On a Saturday morning, a group of young people gather at the shores of Lake Elementaita in Nakuru County, form a circle and start sharing some black little balls, the size of macadamia nuts. They then take slingshots and start walking towards the sleeping warrior hill, a few kilo...

In Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt Counties that have enacted climate laws and regulations and have dedicated technical personnel in place have started receiving climate change funds to the tune of $1.3 million per year. Speaking during the launch of the African Green Climate Finance Nati...

The rallying call of COP27 is to “take action and tackle the climate emergency”. Yet the $100 billion a year pledged to developing nations at previous COPs has not been forthcoming. Advanced countries and donors that made those promises are now delaying the matter until 2025. UN ...

In the 1970s, Emma and her siblings spent evenings harvesting fruits and vegetables from their father’s farm for the local market. Their father ran a sustainable farming business that met the family’s essential needs. Fast forward to today, Emma is a mother of two and can barely ...

With concerns growing over the fast rate at which the climate is changing, industries are being called upon to adopt sustainable practices that reduce the impact their activities have on the environment. Being one of the biggest contributors to rapid climate change, a lot of the ...

More than 250 health journals across the world have come together to simultaneously publish an editorial urging world leaders to deliver climate justice for Africa during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) taking place in Cairo, Egypt. The editorial, which is authored by 16...

Climate change should remain a focus for all economies. Though old and variable, humans have suffered boom and boon from this eventful phenomenon.  The world’s climate has undergone transformative changes over time and every area of the world has experienced a different type of c...

Climate change action groups from Nakuru slums got a boost in their bid to earn from environmental conservation initiatives after receiving a Sh1 million grant. The money, from the international network of community-based organisations Slum Dwellers International and the Nakuru C...

In Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt Gender activists have called for increased action to meet climate change goals focusing on the specific needs of African women and girls. The more than 150 activists from countries in all five regions of the continent put forward 27 demands on climate ju...

A social media user recently took to Instagram to say that overpopulation is a myth that has been used by environmentalists to induce fear. Using a photo of a city surrounded by water and a river, the user said that there is so much room on earth. “The lie that we are overpopulat...

In Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt Council of Governors chairperson Anne Waiguru has urged the world to put loss and damage financing at the heart of the ongoing 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Addressing a high-level panel that was dissect...

Kenya is worried that things could get worse in the world of sports if drastic steps are not taken to arrest the impact of climate change that is already affecting sportsmen and women’s way of life. Cabinet Secretary for Sports Ababu Namwamba and Athletics Kenya President Jack Tu...

Climate change and its effect was among the challenges which prominently featured on the first day of the fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices conference being held at Nairobi’s Safari Park Hotel Wednesday and Thursday. This comes at a time the country is facing one of the worst ...

In Sharm-El-Sheikh, Egypt Rich countries have been criticised for putting Africa on a “dangerous path” of dependency on fossil fuels. The concern of the African delegation on climate justice comes amid ongoing and planned massive investments in oil and gas projects on the contine...

The ongoing 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh is the fifth time the COP summit has been held in Africa with Morocco, South Africa and Kenya having hosted it. The organisers say they expect over 40,000 participants, which would m...

The 27th session of the annual United Nations climate change conference has kicked off in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt, with calls for world leaders to take immediate action to save the world from the impacts of climate change. As Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry took over the Co...

The catastrophic effects of climate change are being felt across the globe, including by close to 43 million people in East Africa. All key sectors in the region—health, agriculture, education, food, shelter, water, hygiene, sanitation, tourism and income generation—have been aff...

President William Ruto is departing to Egypt today to lead the Kenyan delegation at the 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that is being held in Sharm el-Sheikh City.  At the meeting, President Ruto is expe...

President Yesterday, delegates from all over the world attending the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt, were informed that an agreement had been reached after intense negotiations to have loss and damage as an agenda to discuss whethe...

On Friday morning, mothers and children gathered around hoping to find relief food as volunteers from Save the Children mobilised the hungry crowd, deep in Kaakel village in Turkana County.  The joint medical outreach activity in collaboration with the county government was visit...

Tomorrow, world leaders will congregate in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, for the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP27). Faced with an intensifying energy crisis, record greenhouse gas concentrations and an increase in extreme weather events, COP27 seeks renewed internat...

Two issues have bothered me this past month – gender inequality in government appointments and the ongoing drought, coupled with inflation. President William Ruto is at the tail end of his Executive appointments. Sadly, out of his 22 Cabinet secretaries, only seven are women. The...

For Sh100, Pamela Oluoch would feed her family of seven on a sufficient dietary intake of vegetables. The resident of Kisumu Ndogo in Nairobi’s Korogocho informal settlement would make a nutrient-rich mix of amaranth worth Sh30, sukuma wiki (Sh50) and spinach (Sh20). Now, she spe...

Tree planting has been hailed globally as one of the weapons against climate change. Through it, degraded land and forest cover can be restored, increasing carbon absorption from the environment, thus keeping increases in global temperatures below 1.5 degrees Celcius. This is the...

What is the extent of the climate crisis in Kenya? In what ways has it altered the course of life in the country? ‘Healthy Nation’ looks at some of consequences of climate change and speaks to ordinary Kenyans about how these destructive events have impacted their lives. I boug...

Baringo County is on the brink of a climate crisis thanks to endless charcoal burning. With little intervention from the local administration and national government, charcoal burners are having a field day. A visit to the region reveals a sad state of affairs as there are no mor...

Older generations might be easier to talk to about climate change because they account for more emissions due to their long standing social and economic activities, and received the first warning from scientists in the 1980s. In the words of Ugandan youth climate activist Vanessa...

As the climate crisis worsens with its impact directly felt globally, it seems that people around the world care very little about it. This is according to a new survey that shows that people from the most affected regions worry more about war, terrorism, crime, violence, Covid-1...

Priyanka Chopra Jonas, famous for her role in ‘Quantico’ thriller series, is an Indian actress, producer, model and singer. She is also the global Unicef Goodwill Ambassador. It is! And I am here for a different reason than what I thought I would be coming for. I have heard of Ke...

Climate activists in Kenya on Saturday took to the streets of Kenya’s capital Nairobi, demanding action against loss and damage due to climate change. Under the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), the activists, mostly young people, pressed countries in the global north...

Almost every year, pastoralists in the arid and semi-arid lands (Asals) agonise over the loss of their livestock due to drought. The problem is predictable but the recurrent nature of the catastrophe has almost made it normal in the country. As human population increases, the pas...

A group of youth from Kenya are planning to undertake a 4,868km walk to raise awareness on global issues and the local solutions that grassroots actors and individuals can offer to address planetary crises ahead of the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP27) in Egyp...

The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (Unicef) has raised the red flag over rising cases of child marriage in the Horn of Africa, perpetuated by the ongoing drought. The UN agency warns that girls as young as 12 years are being forced into child marriage and ...

Abigael Kima is acutely aware that, on matters of climate change, things are not looking great. She has read the dire climate reports, and sat on meetings where questions on how to confront climate change crises were being fronted in all forms, and worse, she has experienced it. ...

Climate change compounds the threat to Kenya’s food security made worse by the desert locust invasion amid the Covid-19 pandemic, ravaging livelihoods through reduced agricultural yields, driving malnutrition and hunger. Consequently, efforts to concurrently flatten its curve are...

The BRICS countries held multiple high-level environmental conferences recently and have renewed their joint commitment to tackling climate change and promoting sustainable development. These countries, representing around 42 percent of the world population and one-fifth of the g...

In 2010/19, the average annual global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were at their highest levels in human history, but the rate of growth has slowed. The latest report highlighted the need to phase out fossil fuel infrastructure, and not build any more, as existing infrastructur...

Farmers and workers in tea, flower and coffee sectors will benefit better prices and support to combat climate change, after Fairtrade Africa, an organisation that champions good agricultural practices, secured Sh1.6 billion for its African market to be used over the next four ye...

The latest study by the world’s top climate scientists gives us a stark warning and points to the direction we must run to end Africa’s climate crisis. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report adopted by UN member states warns that global greenhouse gas emissio...

In the song “Crazy World” from the album “House of Exile” released in 1991, Lucky Dube sings about the indifference among blacks when it comes to fighting for their rights in apartheid South Africa. The song goes: South Africa’s independence was still three years in the making, b...

When we refer to climate change as a natural disaster, we steer the conversation away from those responsible for the crisis. Multinational corporations putting profits over humanity and not being accountable for their contributions to the climate crisis is a true case of capitali...

Today is the International Women’s Day, whose celebration this year focus on how to empower women and girls to tackle climate change. The ensuing discussions will extend to the 66th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW66), scheduled for March 14-25. Women and gir...

African countries, Kenya included, are spending a fortune to adapt to the effects of climate change, a new report has shown. The report, Adapt or Die, by Power Shift Africa shows the brunt African countries will bear despite contributing the least to the climate crisis. It highli...

Loss and damage (L&D) was introduced in 1991 by the Alliance of Small Island States (Aosis), which proposed an international insurance pool to compensate small island and low-lying countries vulnerable to sea-level rise.  The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) the...

Dying polar bears, melting glaciers, rising water levels, deadly heat waves, and surge in cases of skin cancer. This is what we are going through all over the world because of our irresponsibility.  Many of the issues we face as human beings are undoubtedly due to climate change....

Background The Earth is in grave danger, and so is tourism, thanks to climate change realities. Kenya’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC) 2021 report says that it is “unequivocal” that human activity has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land. On September 8, 2021, ...

For the millions of pastoralists in northern Kenya, their way of life could soon fall prey to climate change. A system that has supported them for thousands of years could end due to changes in the weather. Frequent droughts have left a trail of death and destruction in most plac...

Key on the agenda at the just-concluded 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26, in Glasgow, Scotland, was action on global warming and how to strengthen countries’ ability to mitigate the impact of climate change.  The climate crisis has had far-reachi...

Wealthy countries are not doing enough to stop climate change and the world is unlikely to meet its targets in the fight against global warming, African activists have said. Speaking in Glasgow during the ongoing COP26 summit, the activists said very little progress has been made...

A summer of raging wildfires, killer floods, landslides, droughts and rising sea levels around the world has made more people here aware of the dangers of climate change.  According to an Ipsos MORI poll, nearly a third of 1,015 Britons consulted said rising temperatures, the env...

Africa will be hit hardest by climate change, with up to 86 million people migrating within their own countries by 2050, a new report shows ahead of the climate summit (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland. Based on analyses in West Africa and the Lake Victoria Basin, the World Bank’s Gro...

Athletics Kenya on Thursday became the first athletics federation to sign the United Nations-initiated Sports for Climate Action Framework at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani in Nairobi. This initiative aims at supporting and guiding sports actors in achieving global...

Erratic rains, increased pests and diseases and frequent dry spells are some of the effects of climate change farmers in East Africa are grappling with. So severe are the changes that they have disrupted farming seasons and become a threat to food security in the region and acros...

Since the 2016 Paris Agreement, which targets to keep global temperature increases under 1.5 degrees Celsius, innovators across the globe have been working on a number of tech solutions to combat climate change. Nation.Africa looks at the most potential technologies currently in ...

Our world faces a sustainability crisis. The planet is not on track to meet our sustainable development commitments and insufficient investments are flowing in the right direction. The government, the private sector and development partners must come together and show the same le...

The Covid-19 pandemic period is an opportune time to take stock of women’s socio- cultural and economic achievements as well as the challenges they face as they actively participate in the implementation of Africa’s development agenda.  The theme ‘Choose to challenge’ , adopted f...

Efforts to curtail the impact of climate change have been hampered by decreased investment in green projects globally. This is as governments channel most finances to recovery from the economic and social impact of Covid-19. In essence, Covid-19 recovery efforts and spending have...

Climate change is an issue of critical emergency across the world today. Action needs to be done now! If not, future generations will suffer from the mistakes that we have made. The crisis of global warming must be brought to the fore if we are to mitigate this problem. Climate c...

The return of the US to the Paris Agreement is a huge relief to the world even as the devastating effects of global warming continue to be felt. On his first day in office, US President Joe Biden signed an executive order to reverse Donald Trump administration’s withdrawal from t...

Civil Societies Organizations (CSOs) in Isiolo and Marsabit have decried gender inequality, limited resources and all-pervading patriarchy in the climate change adaptation and mitigation processes in the two counties. Isiolo Voice of Women Network Vice-Chairperson Elizabeth Ibrah...

Today a number of activities are taking place despite the restrictions caused by the pandemic because the youth in Kenya are also aware that their future is at stake despite the fact that our President appears to say all the right things when it comes to issues climate change. At...

One day, climate change will turn Britons into refugees! Nonsense? Let’s see. There’s much talk about Fiji, where sea levels are rising and people have had to abandon their homes and build again on higher ground. It’s sad, of course, but Fiji is in the Pacific Ocean, far from tem...

Nasike Lopuricho, 70, slowly walks across the acacia dotted arid hills of Lokichar, Turkana County, tending to her goats. Once in a while, she stops to collect dry branches from the acacia for firewood, which she uses to cook at home. She also sells some of it at a local market f...

It is not a year yet since Kenya last experienced the El-Nino weather phenomenon, but where farmers expected a season of plenty soon after the heavy rains, the opposite is true as hundreds of thousands and their livestock suffer food shortages in at least 13 counties. The United ...

Political and socio-economic upheavals have always been the main cause of conflict and displacement of people in many parts of the world, but climate change is now making millions more homeless. A new report by the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) says that rising temperatu...

Culture, being a way of life in Africa, has borne the brunt of climate change. African customs and social practices, including medicine and religion, have been affected by climate change in the same way these practices effected climate change, the one most-mentioned socio-cultura...

Yes, things do change. And things are changing. If you want to confirm this, look around you. Many parts of Kenya do not have as much rain as they used to. Rain has not only reduced both in volume and frequency, it has become erratic and destructive. PASTURE DIMINISHED I recently...

A biohazard is an organism, or biological substance, that threatens the life of other organisms or humans. They include harmful biological agents such as viruses, toxins, bacteria, insects, birds, animals, plants and humans themselves, which can cause diseases and death — the ult...

Experts use many numbers when talking about climate change. However, rising temperatures, the resulting crop failure, and the consequent loss of livelihoods and destitution of millions of households are this year’s most important and urgent developments for millions of smallholde...

The drought in many parts of Kenya, brought about by the La Niña phenomenon may just be a signal that a lot of changes have taken place in the atmosphere. On a daily basis, the media have continued to post grim pictures of the extreme hunger in various areas in Kenya mainly due t...

The country faces significant challenges from the negative impacts of climate change that could slow down or reverse some of the gains made in the realisation of sustainable development, if not addressed properly. The economy and the people’s livelihoods are highly dependent on n...

At no time has a global deal on climate change looked more likely than it does today. In October, European Union leaders agreed on ambitious climate and energy targets for 2030, including a binding domestic greenhouse gas emissions reduction target of at least 40 per cent. Our an...

Environmental degradation and resource depletion are among the key challenges facing our world today. If not arrested in good time, they have the potential to threaten our very survival. Such challenges include deforestation as we seek to produce more food and fuel to match incre...

Starting Monday and for the next 11 days, leaders from across the globe will be meeting in Paris, France, to debate plans of action to respond to the challenges posed by global warming. Already, melting polar ice caps are posing a threat to coastal communities as sea levels rise....

I  read with dismay a recent newspaper article about how our rivers are drying up. I tweeted about it and got an overwhelming response. I was born in a place where I could see Mt Kenya every morning in all its majesty. But, alas! 50 or so years later, I can confidently say what i...

Climate change is upending lives across Africa. Okello Ligolo, a fisherman from Kisumu County, spent Christmas in a secondary school after floods forced him from his home. He recalls when major floods were less frequent, occurring once a decade or so. Now they seem to occur yearl...

Kenya faces significant challenges from the negative impacts of climate change which pose a risk to its people’s livelihoods and economy. Already observed impacts include: reduced agricultural production hence food insecurity due to changing rainfall patterns or failure of some r...

ABU DHABI, UN chief Antonio Guterres said climate-related devastation was striking the planet on a weekly basis and warned Sunday that urgent action must be taken to avoid a catastrophe. "We are here because the world is facing a grave climate emergency," Mr Guterres told a two-d...

The government will set up a panel to monitor and follow up on recommendations reached at all climate change conferences and negotiations, Prime Minister Raila Odinga has said. The PM told the Kenyan delegation to COP 16 in Cancun, Mexico, that such a panel would ensure proper co...

US and British scientific academies said Wednesday there was a clear consensus that climate change is real and will have serious disruptive effects on the planet. The US National Academy of Sciences and Britain's Royal Society said they were making the joint declaration in hopes ...

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon is on Tuesday expected to officially open the global climate change meeting as Kenya expressed confidence that developed countries will agree to a deal pushed by Africa. The global climate change meeting known as COP17 and attended by about 196 co...

LIMA, Saturday Developing countries may need up to $500 billion per year by 2050 to adapt to the ravages of climate change, dwarfing previous estimates, a UN report said Friday. The figure was about 20 times today’s public spending on climate adaptation, according to the United N...

Soaring carbon emissions will amplify the risk of conflict, hunger, floods and migration this century, the UN's expert panel said Monday in a landmark report on the impact of climate change. Left unchecked, greenhouse gas emissions may cost trillions of dollars in damage to prope...

Kenya's President Kibaki on Tuesday asked industrialised countries offer 'adequate financial support’ to their developing counterparts to enable them deal effectively with climate change. The President further urged the countries to ensure that they made “rapid cuts’’ in their gr...

LONDON, Eleven climate change protesters stripped off in Britain's House of Commons on Monday during another lengthy debate about Brexit, chastising MPs for ignoring the urgent environmental needs of the planet. "I'm tired of the time and resources our government wastes rearrangi...

Other factors have also fuelled an increase in the frequency and intensity of major fires, including human encroachment on wooded areas, and questionable forest management. "The patient was already sick," in the words of David Bowman, a professor of environmental change biology a...

Climate change and regional development projects are threatening the health and livelihood of indigenous peoples in Turkana, a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) has stated. The report indicates that water and pasture shortage will persist in Turkana County. It states that rising...

The government has said changes in climate have been the biggest barrier to reaching the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The Ministry of Environment on Thursday admitted that as global warming and other extreme natural disasters are affecting achievement of MDGs. “Our high d...

Mombasa Polytechnic University College students on Friday held a special event to showcase their concern for the climate change if the planned World Summit on Copenhagen does not come up with an amicable solution. The group burnt a picture of Africa and Kenya to demonstrate their...

Negotiations at the climate change conference in Paris have reached fever pitch with world leaders meeting to finalise on a climate agreement to be signed, hopefully on Friday. The 29-page document has elicited emotions from different quarters, with a section of the civil society...

Global warming could lead to food shortages and expose Kenyans to more diseases, a UN report warns. In the report released on Monday, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said that global warming had changed rainfall patterns and affected the quality and quantity ...

If you’re an expert in climate science, you probably get this question a lot. “I do,” said Kate Marvel, associate research scientist at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. “And I’ve been hearing it more recently.” It’s no mystery why. Reports of the threats from a warmi...

Climate change is affecting the production of tea, one of the world’s most popular beverages. The phenomenon is altering not only the taste, aroma and potential health benefits of the beverage but also the lives of farmers who grow tea. In Kenya, some 60 per cent of the tea outpu...

Women have been identified as the most affected by climate change as they are relied on by the community to ensure there is food on the table. Speaking in Wote, Makueni County, at the launch of a project aimed to link population growth and climate change, Clive Mutunga, a senior ...

Global warming is the reality that the world lives with today, with temperatures hitting new records every passing year. 2016 went down in history as the hottest year on record, with all-time highs of 42.7°C in Pretoria, South Africa to 54°C in Mitribah, Kuwait. Overall, the Worl...

Makomboki Tea Factory sits on a hill in Murang’a South, surrounded by tens of trees and a vast tea plantation making the air feel lighter and fresher. The factory’s field services coordinator Maina Chiuri says they planted the trees following a series of frost in January 2013 tha...

For ages, mankind has relied on technological innovations to advance, but industrialisation and human activities, have increasingly released tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere – through the use of fossil fuels, burning of plastics and deforestation —causing average temp...

Essong’olo village, in the heart of Vihiga County, is just like any other hamlet, with most households engaging in subsistence farming. Isaiah Bitoolo is one of the residents of this village and, like many of his neighbours, he keeps a herd of five indigenous cattle in a makeshif...

Stakeholders in the aquaculture sector are burning the midnight oil researching on climate change-related issues that are affecting this sector. The research, which has been ongoing for about a year now, aims at looking into ways to keep the sector afloat, amid challenges associa...

A 2007 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projected that by 2020, between 75 and 250 million people in Africa will be exposed to increased water stress. At the same time, some countries’ yields from rain-fed agriculture would be reduced by up to 50 per...

Makueni County goes into the African continent’s history as the first to enact a law that incorporates global warming into its development planning. During the just-concluded United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA), the county was applauded for passing a law that sets aside on...

Seasons have shifted. It is getting hotter. It is getting even more unpredictable. You sow and sometimes you reap. Sometimes you sit and hope some of your efforts, just some of them, will bear fruit. The earth is old, sacred, resilient and powerful. Its breathtaking forces, in wh...

A climate change activist who pushed for the enactment of a law that mainstreams mitigation of global warming in Kenya’s development plans has been named among the world’s 100 most influential people. Mr Mithika Mwenda, the Executive Director of Pan African Climate Justice Allian...

The United Nations Environment Programme released this week the A continuation of current trends will likely result in global warming of around 3.2°C by the end of the century, with continued temperature rises after that. In the same vein, about two months ago, the Intergovernmen...

Dennis Musyoka was singing in a choir in Kitui last Sunday when he suddenly collapsed and died. On Wednesday, a pathologist confirmed that the second-year student at the Kitui campus of Kenyatta University could be the first Kenyan to die of a heat wave sweeping through the count...

Ministries of agriculture, environment and trade in East Africa need to harmonise their policies to effectively deal with issues of climate change, food security and trade. This has become even more important in view of the on-going negotiations at both the World Trade Organisati...

The world has just 12 years to mitigate the effects of climate change before they become irreversible, a United Nations report has warned. In a special report released on Monday, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change published its findings on global warming of 1.5 degrees...

Kenya Vision 2030 Delivery Secretariat is engaging county governments and other stakeholders to implement projects that will be key in fighting poverty levels in the country, The secretariat want the counties to come up with ways to increase awareness of the harmful effects of cl...

Climate change has affected Kenyan coffee production through unpredictable rainfall patterns and excessive droughts, making crop management and disease control a nightmare, a researcher said on Thursday. Intermittent rainfall in the 2007/08 crop year, for example, caused a terrib...