Kenya has initiated the process of transforming the Kenya Meteorological Department into a semi-autonomous government agency.
While making the announcement, Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Forestry, Soipan Tuya said the move is aimed at enhancing the adoption of early warning weather and climate information technology within the institution.
The government also expects to create new revenue streams through the directive.
“We are in talks with private sector partners to implement a public-private partnership that will convert the meteorology department into a semi-autonomous government agency”, said CS Tuya.
The CS made the announcement during a media briefing held at the Serena Hotel in Nairobi Thursday, ahead of the sixth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-6) which will take place from 26th February to 6th March at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) headquarters in Gigiri, Nairobi.
“Kenya is considered a trailblazer in climate action,” noted CS Tuya. “The Nairobi Declaration which resulted from the Africa Climate Summit and Africa Climate Week that we hosted last year are now key reference documents in multilateral policy discussions.”
During the 2023 Africa Climate Summit, African leaders cited climate change as the ‘single greatest challenge facing humanity’ and called for climate-positive investments as an adaptation mechanism geared towards safeguarding the lives, livelihoods and assets of the continent’s 1.2 billion occupants.
The CS also outlined the four key priority areas that the government will be focusing on during this month’s global summit.
They include renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, critical minerals and the blue economy.
She further reiterated the state’s commitment to adopt carbon market regulations through parliament and collaborate with county governments, private sector organizations and waste collection associations to formalize a circular economy framework.
More than 70 Cabinet Ministers and 5,000 delegates from around the world are expected to attend UNEA-6 which will be opened by President William Ruto.
The forum provides an opportunity for environment experts, policy makers, civil society, private sector and community leaders to engage in high level discussions and negotiations that shape the global environment
policy.
CS Tuya also invited the participants to sample Kenya’s cultural offerings which will be on
display at the Kenya House within the conference venue and explore the various tourism
attractions that the country has to offer.
Boniface Mwalii
