REPUBLIC OF KENYA
THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
ELEVENTH PARLIAMENT
(FOURTH SESSION)
PUBLIC PETITION
BY
EMONYO YEFWE INTERNATIONAL REGARDING COMING INTO FORCE OF THE COP21 PARIS
AGREEMENT AND ITS IMPLEMENTATION LOCALLY.
I, the undersigned,
Luke Wanjala Kapchanga, ID/ NO 9996278 of Maraka Ward, Webuye Constituency ,
Bungoma county, Director of Emonyo Yefwe International a civil society dealing
with policy advocacy on climate change,
DRAW the attention of the House to the
following:-
That, the Paris agreement on
climate change has entered into force ,
marking the first time that governments have agreed legally binding limits to
global temperature rises, under the existing UN Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC) regime.
That, the Agreement was to enter into force 30 days
after at least 55 Parties accounting for at least 55 per cent of global
greenhouse gas emissions ratify (or accept, approve or accede to) the
Agreement. These thresholds were passed on 5 October so the Agreement entered
into force on 4 November 2016.
That, once an agreement enters into force, all
countries that have ratified it will become parties to it and will be legally
bound by its provisions,in any case, ratification, approval, acceptance or
accession have essentially the same legal effect.
That, the
primary goals of the Paris Agreement are to hold the increase in the
global average temperature to well below two-degrees Celsius, and achieve net
zero greenhouse gas emissions in the second half of this century.
That , to achieve these goals, governments and
the private sector must act boldly and quickly on a range of fronts, including
ratcheting down investment in fossil fuels and mobilizing an additional $1
trillion per year in clean energy from now through 2050.
That, Kenya as a
developing country is highly vulnerable
to the impacts of climate change.
That,
the Agreement will need to be implemented at the national level through a range
of domestic actions and its effectiveness will therefore depend to a large
extent on whether each country meets its international commitments.
That,Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) allow
each Party to decide what it is able and willing to do under the Agreement,
subject to general transparency and
accounting rules agreed at the international level.
That, most
direct obligation stemming from the Agreement relates to implementing measures
outlined in Nationally Determine Contributions.
That,Kenya’s
estimated climate-smart investment potential in selected sectors is $81 billion
from 2016–2030.
That,Kenya’s
NDC pledges to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 30 percent from
business-as-usual levels by 2030,
detailing mitigation and adaptation activities, including priorities for
increased use of renewables, options for clean transportation, and achieving 10
percent tree cover.
That,
Parliamentarians must make full use of their powers to legislate, allocate
budgets, influence policy and
exercise oversight if the Agreement is to be effective, have a key role to play in addressing climate
change based on their position as representatives of their respective
populations, and as primary decision makers and overseers of accountability
within government.
That, they have broad legislative powers to establish
governance structures and to allocate funding, shape policy, mobilise domestic
actors, provide oversight functions to monitor progress, and ensure
transparency and accountability.
That, Parliamentarians are well-positioned to harmonise climate efforts
with other development priorities, for example with respect to action on gender
equality and the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs).
That,
Goal 13 of the SDGs is specifically about taking urgent action to combat
climate change and its impacts. Issues related to climate change are also
implicitly linked to many of the other SDGs.
That, they need
to develop and implement national strategies, policies, action plans and
legislation to galvanise action and harness private sector finance and
innovation.
That,
the effectiveness of the oversight exercised by parliamentarians is
critical in ensuring government deliver on their contributions.
That, Kenya is a beneficiary of
,The Capacity-building Initiative for Transparency (CBIT) trust fund, hosted by
the Global Environment Facility (GEF) , the CBIT aims to help
developing countries in their efforts to build institutional and technical
capacity for enhanced transparency.
That, Increasing transparency and enhancing countries’ capacity
for monitoring and evaluation are lynchpins for the Paris Agreement.
That,
Kenyans ,regardless of their status and position ,want clean air and clean
water for their families and children. They want to protect their health from extreme weather events. They want to enjoy
nature and Earth’s natural resources.
THEREFORE your humble petitioner pray that the
National Assembly, through the Departmental Committee on Environment and Natural resources to initiate
a process to identify gaps in existing policy and legislative frameworks and
any barriers to implementing the Paris Agreement by:-
- Develop initial
recommendations on appropriate policy, strategy and legislative
responses needed to implement
contributions under the Paris Agreement
- Identify linkages between
action on climate change and socio-economic development
priorities, in particular
synergies with action on the SDGs
- Consider how to integrate
climate issues and responses as underlying contexts and bases of policy
and strategy across government.
And your PETITIONER will
ever pray.
Luke Kapchanga ID/NO. 9996278