By Biodun Busari

Hundreds of protesters flooded the streets of Nairobi, the Kenyan capital on Saturday to demonstrate against the climate change mainly caused by the advanced countries.

The protesters carrying different placards embarked on the march as part of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance.

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The youth-based group held street protests demanding that wealthier nations pay for the huge damage done to the land of peasant farmers and pastoralists across Africa.

Heritage Times reported that Kenya has been devastated by the worst drought in four decades which has been attributed to global warming.

The leading protester and activist, Duncan Omwami who spoke during the demonstration said the Global North must pay for the damages they are causing.

Omwami said, “Remember from the IPCC, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, 96 per cent of the emissions are being emitted by the Global North.

“Four per cent is emitted by the Global South. Africa at our position, with only 4 per cent, 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.”

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.