Here’s a solution that we are not implementing, a tough conversation we’re not having and a truth we’re shying away from. I’ll unpack it for you.
Bringing you up to speed first: we have hundred(s) dead, thousands displaced, and millions affected by the recent extreme weather events in the form of rains and floods in Kenya.
About the same period last year, we were facing what was almost a consecutive fifth failed rainy season. Terrible.
So far, so sad. Subtle good news is that the world did see this coming, prepared for it… but left it all on paper📄
You’ve probably heard of COP (the forum that the world discusses climate stuff. The last one was COP28 in UAE, and the next one is COP29 in Azerbaijan).
At such, and other summits, some of the two key contentious issues are “Loss and Damage”, and something else called “Adaptation”. #Adaptation is a whole bunch that I’ll narrate later, but for now, let’s focus on #LossandDamage, and its Funds.
Essentially, the Loss and Damage Fund is meant to provide financial assistance to countries most vulnerable and impacted by climate change. The goal is to support those disproportionately affected by climate change, despite having contributed the least to it.
For example, the Loss and Damage Fund should be used for catastrophic events like the floods we’re having, and other climate-related disasters around the world. This is exactly what the fund was created for—to help vulnerable communities recover from the devastating impacts of climate change.
Unfortunately, all those resolutions stay on ink and paper (and PDFs)…Unless of course, money gets to those countries mostly in form of loans with high interest rates, or carbon credits get sold at terribly low prices.
Look up on the pledges made by different countries, and how much that has not been committed to. You’ll be surprised. We urgently need a way to show accountability.
That we are spending much more money and resources (while creating emissions) at war, rather than doing what’s best for our planet is just plain wrong 🌍
Photo credits: Edwin Waita, Reuters
#ClimateJustice #ClimateAction
