The conference is expected to bring together 198 nations that are part of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change UNFCCC. It is the highest decision making body of the UNFCCC and converges annually since 1995 to discuss and agree on how to address climate change and its impact. This is the 27th time countries will be gathering under the convention - COP 27 in Sharm el Sheikh, an Egyptian resort town on the Red Sea coast. It is the fifth time that the conference will be held twice on African soils in Morocco, Kenya and South Africa.
Prior to the conference, Kenya's priority areas are the reduction of emissions from all parties and financing. Kenya like other developing countries gets the biggest impact of climate change despite big economies being the biggest emitters of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
How severe is the climate crisis in Kenya?
The climate calamity in Kenya has resulted in high cost of commodities because of the prolonged droughts, wildfires, wildlife deaths, flash floods, crop failures and expensive fuel. This is the first time in decades that drought has killed more wildlife in parks than poaching. In recent times, there have been frequent fires in Mt Kenya and the Aberdares, engulfing the country's largest forest ecosystems. At the same time, pastoralists are encroaching on farms in search of pasture, resulting in human conflict.
The National Drought Management Authority says Garissa, Isiolo, Kajiado, Kitui, Mandera, Marsabit, Laikipia, Samburu, Tana River, Turkana and Wajir are currently in a severe drought phase, with most of these counties suffering a severe vegetation deficit.
Agriculture is the most exposed sector to climate variability in the context of developing countries. A recent study published in the journal Economia Politica recommends that planning for adaptation policies to reduce climate vulnerability account for multiple spatial interrelations. The researchers call for the inclusion of peacekeeping measures in the design and implementation of adaptation strategies for climate resilience to avert persistence of violence.
What are the most watched topics at CO 27?
Fossil fuels: Countries agreed at the COP 26 talks last year for the first time to phase down coal production and trim other fossil fuel subsidies.
Some nations, especially in Africa, have called for a formal recognition that they should be allowed to develop their fossil fuel reserves, because of the backsliding of major economies on their promises to shift from fossil fuels. Africa's leaders opened their statements at COP 27 and this is likely to be evidenced by this.
Adaptation: High-income countries have yet to meet their pledge to deliver $100 billion a year in climate finance. In 2019 only $80 billion was delivered. The talks will focus on boosting that annual goal upward from $100 billion from 2025.
At COP 26, countries promised to strengthen their national climate plans, called Nationally Determined Contributions, or NDCs, by the end of the year to be aligned with the Paris Agreement goal of preventing warming beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures. Only 24 countries out of 194 have updated their plans last month, according to the UN synthesis report on NDCs submitted this year.