by Nurat Uthman
Dozens of climate activists took to the streets of Kisumu Kenya on Friday to protest against fossil fuel industries in their region. The protesters called for changes to stop global warming affecting the water near them and the ecosystems of those bodies of water.
“As we head into the INC4 (UN Environment Programme) for the development of the legally binding plastic treaty, we are asking that our government endorse the development of this treaty and become part of it, so that we can have something to obligate multinational corporations to be responsible for the plastic that they produce” says George Bush, climate activist from Friday for Future and member of Kisumu Environmental champions. We are also demanding an end to fossil finance and global just transition from fossil fuels to clean energy”He added.
The group were part of global protest taking place on Friday, calling for an end to global warming. Experts have highlighted the key climate change risk for Kenya as extreme events, in particular droughts and floods.
Climate activist and Environmentalist Emmy Julie Juma, shed more light on the issue. In her word,
“We are experiencing long-time weather patterns like long rainfall since January up to now in April in Kisumu, Kenya. We have flooding – something that we do not expect to have at this time of the year. This has led to the displacement of people, also destruction of property and also destruction of businesses. Currently, a lot of people are also having health problems due to stagnant water, whereby the lake is taking back what belongs to it.”
The global strikes are taking place under the umbrella of Friday’s for Future, which has three main demands: 1. limit temperature rise to 1.5°C, 2. ensure climate justice and equity, and 3. listen to the most accurate, up-to-date science.
