NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 14 – Kenya has signed an international climate declaration committing to protect children and young people from the effects of climate change, joining 80 countries seeking to make their needs a priority in climate policies and investments.
Environment, Climate Change and Forestry Cabinet Secretary Deborah Barasa signed the Intergovernmental Declaration on Children, Youth and Climate Action during the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31), fulfilling a commitment made at COP25 in 2019.
The declaration calls on governments to include children’s rights and needs in national climate policies, investments and decision-making while ensuring young people have a voice in developing climate solutions.
The commitment comes as about 12 million of Kenya’s 24.6 million children face moderate to very high risks from climate change and disasters, according to figures cited in the announcement.
Of these, 2.4 million children live in seven counties classified as highly vulnerable to climate change.
Floods and droughts continue to threaten children’s access to clean water, sanitation, healthcare and nutrition, while disrupting education and exposing them to other protection risks. Girls and children with disabilities are among those facing greater risks.
UNICEF Representative to Kenya Shaheen Nilofer welcomed the signing, saying children were bearing the effects of climate change through displacement, disrupted education and interruptions to essential services.
She said the declaration would help ensure children’s rights and needs are considered in climate policies, financing and implementation.
Barasa said the government would use its National Climate Change Action Plan, Nationally Determined Contributions and Gender and Climate Change commitments to guide implementation.
She said priority areas would include investment in climate-resilient essential services, accessible climate financing and strengthening the ability of vulnerable communities to withstand climate-related shocks.
The CS said children and young people would be involved in developing climate solutions rather than being treated only as beneficiaries of government interventions.
Kenya will track progress through child-focused climate risk assessments and indicators measuring the resilience of essential services, funding directed towards those services and youth participation in climate policy processes.
The signing is expected to guide government efforts to incorporate children’s needs into climate planning and ensure vulnerable young people have a greater role in decisions affecting their future.
