Climate change protesters in Nairobi demand compensation from rich nations

Hundreds of demonstrators took the streets of Nairobi on Saturday to demand wealthy countries do more to tackle climate change in Africa.

Areas of Kenya have been devastated by the worst drought in forty years which many are blaming on global warming.

And campaigners say industrialised nations should compensate them for their losses.

Duncan Omwami was one of the activists taking part.

”We need the Global North to pay for the damages they are causing,” he said.

“Remember from the [IPCC, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] report, 96 percent of the emissions are being emitted by the Global North.

“4 percent is emitted by the Global South. Africa at our position, with only 4 percent, we are not able to make any great contribution to these emissions so we are demanding for the Global North to pay for the loss and damage."

The march took place as part of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance.

The youth-based movement holds street marches and protests demanding that wealthier nations pay for the huge damage done to the land of smallholder farmers and pastoralists across Africa.

Another protester, Elizabeth Wathuti, said: ”These disasters and these challenges are not just happening in Kenya, they are happening across the African continent. And this is a continent that has done the least to cause the climate crisis but still continues to bear the biggest brunt.

“So, we are asking that countries which have contributed the most to this crisis should definitely not abandon these communities on the frontline to their fate but they should step up and fulfil the pledges they have made on climate finance."

In September 2021 almost 3.5 million Kenyans became victims of extreme weather with the government declaring it a national disaster.

In the same period, around 200,000 people were displaced by flooding.