This archive report was first published on 22 November 2019.
On November 4, 2016, the Paris Agreement entered into force, aiming to strengthen the global response to climate change by keeping global temperatures below 2 degrees this century.
However, the United States' decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord, announced on November 4, 2019, is a significant setback for the global effort to combat climate change.
According to Article 9 of the Paris Agreement, developed countries such as the US, China, Russia, India, and Japan are required to provide financial resources to assist developing countries like Kenya to build resilience against climate change impacts.
The agreement stipulates that $100 billion (Sh10 trillion) in public and private resources will be raised each year from 2020 to finance projects that enable developing countries to build resilience.
Kenya, which is one of the countries expected to benefit from the funding, is heavily affected by climate change, with a slight rise in temperature above 2 degrees potentially causing increased seawater that could submerge Mombasa County and 17 per cent of coastal areas, according to the Kenya National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP) 2018-2022.
The US withdrawal from the Climate Accord is a hard slap on the face of Kenya and other developing countries, which are responsible for only a small fraction of global greenhouse gas emissions.
According to World Bank statistics, every American is responsible for 16.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide, while each Kenyan is responsible for 0.3 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
Therefore, President Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord is a significant blow to Kenya and Africa, which are already bearing the heaviest burden of climate change impacts.
