Six years ago, a small community in Kenya’s small town of Lamu on the country’s northern coast resorted to lawsuits and lobbying in order to stop a government-proposed coal power plant in their area.
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For years, Save Lamu — a community-based organization — and other like-minded organizations stepped in courtrooms and conference rooms, an endeavor which culminated in a 2019 ruling by the country’s National Environmental Tribunal. The ruling revoked the license granted to a private company to develop the coal power plant.
The revocation soon led to other partners pulling out, including the American multinational energy company General Electric, which was to invest one-fifth of the project’s equity and supply the technology; the African Development Bank, which would finance the project; and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.
The success of the Lamu community in stopping development of a multimillion coal power plant in their backyard — with the help of faith and civil society organizations — marked a first for communities seeking to fight against fossil fuels. As the effects of climate change worsen, the push for an end to such projects is picking up, and faith leaders are dedicating themselves to this cause.
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Ahead of COP 26, Catholic leaders from G-20 countries have called for an end to the use of fossil fuels. Citing the effects of climate change — which are now being witnessed in most parts of the world — as the reason for joining the fight. The group of church leaders noted that climate change is particularly impacting poor and climate-vulnerable communities “who have contributed to this issue the least.”
“We see increasingly severe and frequent droughts and floods, loss of crops, and destruction of land. We cannot and must not be quiet in the face of such suffering and injustice,” they said in a statement.
They called for an end to fossil fuel development projects and a plan to decommission those in operation.
“The science is clear. The world needs to keep fossil fuels in the ground if we are to limit global warming to a below 1.5 degrees temperature rise by the end of 2030,” they said.
Albert Mashika of Caritas Africa, the continent’s Catholic network, welcomed the call, adding that the limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius is a lifeline to millions of people in Africa, whose livelihoods and families are already at risk of the effects of climate change.
“That’s why ending support of fossil fuels at home and overseas cannot come soon enough,” he said. “Across Africa, we are already struggling to cope with the effects of climate change, alongside long-term issues that already grip the continent such as poverty and compounding problems like COVID-19.”
Godfrey Godana, the head of programs at Caritas Marsabit in Kenya, pointed out that in addition to the effects of climate change on the ground, the organization is also witnessing strained relations between communities due to limited resources. He said that the failure of two rainy seasons in Kenya has resulted in extreme water shortage, migration of herder communities, and widespread reliance on water trucking.
“High water prices have been reported in most pastoral and agro-pastoral livelihood zones. With movement of livestock to strategic water points and limited access to productive land for farming and grazing, there is already increasing local tensions which could trigger further inter communal conflicts,” he said.
Godana believes the situation will worsen if the short rains expected between October and December fail. “Then it will be one of the worst droughts as already the animals are dying in large numbers,” he said.
The drought in Kenya was declared a national emergency in September, and according to the Kenya Red Cross, 2.1 million people have been affected as the food insecurity worsens.
To counter the effects of the drought in Marsabit, Caritas is undertaking school feeding programs, cash transfers to vulnerable households, the delivery of water to schools, and providing feed to sustain livestock. It is also purchasing, fueling, and maintaining generators that pump water into their strategic boreholes.
At the national level, Caritas is supporting the Nawiri program — a project funded by the United States Agency for International Development, and led by Catholic Relief Services and the Kenyan government. The project has provided cash transfers to almost 2,000 households impacted by the drought.
Dr. Mourad Aidi, chief of party for the Nawiri program, said there is a need for more emergency interventions as the situation in some areas is worsening.
“We see increasingly severe and frequent droughts and floods, loss of crops, and destruction of land. We cannot and must not be quiet in the face of such suffering and injustice.”
— Catholic leaders“In addition to an emergency response, over the longer term we need to work with the government to improve early warning systems so communities can plan for potential climate shocks. Farmers can diversify crops to include those that are more resistant to drought so they become more resilient to shocks,” he said.
But despite the advocacy and interventions, more fossil fuel projects are still on course, and the continent's dependence on fossil fuels for its energy needs remains high. Nearly 80% of the continent’s present electricity generation is fossil-fuelled, with non-hydro renewable energy accounting for just over 3% of current generation. Charles Mbarire, a climate expert, said that foreign companies are obstructing the push to stop fossil fuels in Africa.
“Countries like the U.S. are facilitating their citizenship to buy electric cars but their companies are coming into Africa to invest in fossil fuels,” he said “In a short while, the world will be moving to renewable energy and the investments that the third world will have made in fossil fuels will be naught.”
On the other hand, Omar Elmawi, a climate activist who coordinated Decoalonize, an organization which was at the forefront in the Lamu fight, believes that an unceasing push by the locals themselves is needed to fight the coal industry.
“The fact that it was a campaign that was born and driven by the community in Lamu, ensured that the campaign was strong and sustainable. This made it very hard for coal sympathisers to divide and rule the community in Lamu,” he said.
Devex, with support from our partner GHR Foundation, is exploring the intersection between faith and development. Visit the Focus on: Faith and Development page for more. Disclaimer: The views in this article do not necessarily represent the views of GHR Foundation.