Foreign Members of Parliament (MPs) joined their Kenya counterparts for an intense debate on climate change at the National Assembly.
The MPs from Europe, Americas, Asia and Africa on Wednesday, September 6, engaged each other on policy issues during the Africa Climate Summit Parliamentarians Dialogue 2023.
The Dialogue was held under the auspices of the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) and the Africa Climate Change Summit and was supported by the African Union, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang'ula opened the first plenary session that was chaired by Homa Bay County Senator Moses Kajwang.
Kajwang opened the debate with a relatively short explanation of the importance of lawmakers discussing the role of Parliaments in climate action.
"This dialogue will focus on the following key themes, including the importance of climate adaptation in Africa and the need for increased international climate finance for Africa.
"We will also review the role of Parliaments in ensuring that climate action is inclusive and equitable and the need to accelerate the transition to a clean energy future," Kajwang noted.
On his part, Wetang'ula briefly addressed the plenary before leaving for other duties, noting that the conversation should raise awareness among parliamentarians on the urgency of climate action - one of the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals encouraging countries to limit and adapt to climate change.
Wetang'ula stated that parliamentarians should understand the tools and resources needed to effectively address climate change and build a network of MPs committed to climate action.
"We need to create a platform for parliamentarians to share experiences and best practices. The Dialogue is a key opportunity for parliamentarians to come together and discuss the challenges and opportunities of climate change.
"It is also an opportunity to build momentum for climate action in Africa," National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang'ula stated.
While addressing the most urgent issues, the Indian delegate, Gauri Singh, stated that the dialogue's aim should be drafting recommendations for MPs to enact in their respective countries.
Singh, also the Deputy Director General of the International Renewable Energy Agency, explained that the recommendations will help ensure that Parliaments play a leading role in the fight against climate change.
"Energy security has become a very important part of the whole energy transition narrative and a dominant part of how countries want to achieve sufficiency.
"Parliaments are responsible for making laws, allocating budgets, and overseeing the implementation of climate policies. Parliamentarians can also raise awareness of climate change, hold governments to account, and advocate for ambitious climate action," Singh noted.
The Parliamentarians noted that, in 2015, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act, which sets a legally binding target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
A year later, the French Parliament passed a law that required all new buildings to be zero-carbon by 2020.
The Kenyan Parliament passed the Climate Change Act, establishing a national climate change committee and providing for developing a national climate change policy.
All parliamentarians noted that the laws are a few examples of different strategies Parliaments can adopt to address climate change.
