Afrobarometer National Partner in Kenya, the Institute for Development Studies (IDS), released Round 10 survey results on climate change yesterday (28.08.2024) at the Nairobi Safari Club.

The event drew attendees from climate change sector NGOs, academia, media, and development partners. The data presentation made by Dr. Oscar Otele, Afrobarometer Co-National Investigator in Kenya, revealed that:

1. About six in 10 Kenyans (61%) say they have heard of climate change.
2. Among those who have heard of climate change:

• More than four-fifths (82%) believe human activity is the main cause or a contributing factor.
• Strong majorities support measures to limit climate change by the Kenyan government (72%) and rich countries (81%), and most say that wealthy countries have an obligation to help Kenya fund its response to climate change (83%).

3.    Most Kenyans want their government to invest in climate-resilient infrastructure (82%) and solar and wind energy (62%) in response to changing weather patterns and environmental degradation.
   • Three-fourths (74%) say the government should put more pressure on rich countries to provide resources to support Kenya’s response to climatic changes.
   • A slimmer majority (54%) support a ban on cutting down trees for firewood or charcoal, while fewer than half say the government should require families to switch to cookstoves that use cleaner fuels such as electricity or gas (42%) and promote the use of taxis and buses that run on electricity (36%).
4.  In substantial numbers, Kenyans say they have adapted to changing weather patterns by reducing their livestock or changing their grazing patterns (45% of those who keep livestock), reducing their water consumption or changing their water source (45%), changing their work hours (43%), or changing the crops they plant or the food they eat (42%).

While giving his remarks, Prof. Karuti Kanyinga, the Afrobarometer Core-Partner Director for Eastern Africa at IDS-UON, highlighted the need for policies that have cross-sectoral interest because such policies are more likely to be implemented by the various climate change stakeholders. He questioned who was driving climate change policies in Africa; is it development partners?

He added that going forward, Afrobarometer should think of conducting qualitative interviews to bring out the voices behind the numbers (quantitative data).

Prof. Kanyinga urged the present stakeholders to include the private sector in such discussions since the private sector is now the key driver of all sectors of the economy in Africa.

During the plenary session, Innocent Wanyonyi, a youth advocate, noted that we cannot separate the issue of climate from human rights. His comment arose from the data showing that survey respondents with moderate to high lived poverty levels were the most affected by climate change.  He called on stakeholders to be proactive in addressing climate change concerns.

Ms. Clarice Wambua, a lecturer of Climate Law at the University of Nairobi, shared the following observations:

1. The high number of respondents (61%) who have heard about climate change indicates the awareness campaigns and efforts that have been going on in the past decade or more. She also highlighted the growing climate policy space in the country.
2. The data showed that only 57% of women were aware of climate change, compared to 66% of men. She questioned if the formal language used in climate change discourses was responsible for this and the education gap between the two genders. Further, this awareness disparity was seen between respondents in rural areas (57%) and urban areas (70%). Ms. Wambua said this brings to the fore the need to interrogate the communication methods used to spread the climate change discourse to the various categories of people.
3. Given that 16% of respondents said climate change was making life “somewhat better” and 7% said “much better”, Ms. Wambua inspired the participants to think of how climate change could make life better for some people; suggesting benefits from increased funding from the government and donors for climate change programs, carbon projects, etc, which would be an interesting area to further investigate.
4. Ms. Wambua noted that increasingly, citizens were holding the government responsible whenever they felt it had failed to protect them from adverse effects of climate change, citing two cases in court over the rising lakes as well as flooding in parts of the country. This corresponds with the data that shows 44% of respondents think that the government should be primarily responsible for trying to limit climate change and reduce its impact. She also noted that clean energy projects must be implemented in line with human rights, and adherence to the law.

Dr. Christine Majale, a lecturer at the Department of Spatial and Environmental Planning at Kenyatta University, emphasized the need for local-led solutions for climate.

In his rejoinder, Dr. Otele emphasized the need to communicate the concept of climate change in a language our communities, especially in rural areas understand, as well as utilize indigenous knowledge in the climate change discourse.