The Imperatives in Mainstreaming Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in Urban Management Practices: African Perspectives

Maurice Onyango Oyugi

The Imperatives in Mainstreaming Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in Urban Management Practices: African Perspectives

Maurice Onyango Oyugi^*: Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Nairobi, P.O Box 30197 - 00100, Nairobi, Kenya

^*Corresponding Author: Maurice Onyango Oyugi, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Nairobi, P.O Box 30197 - 00100, Nairobi, Kenya, Email: maurice.oyugi@uonbi.ac.ke

Received: 02-Oct-2023 / Manuscript No. jescc-23-117180 / Editor assigned: 04-Oct-2023 / PreQC No. jescc-23-117180 (PQ) / Reviewed: 18-Oct-2023 / QC No. jescc-23-117180 / Revised: 23-Oct-2023 / Manuscript No. jescc-23-117180 (R) / Accepted Date: 30-Oct-2023 / Published Date: 30-Oct-2023

Abstract

The paper is anchored on the argument that cities contribute to global warming and climate change through the interaction of urban morphological factors, notably the development density, distribution of land uses, building configuration, nature of the construction materials used in the city, the amount of vegetation within the city, the utility of public transportation, vehicular traffic volume, industrialization, and energy consumption in the city, which influence the occurrence of urban heat island effects and greenhouse gas emissions to compromise the air quality and surface temperatures. Therefore, global warming and climate change are significant challenges portended by urbanization and have led to increased occurrences of drought oscillating with floods, heat waves, sea level rise, increased pest invasions, disease incidences, food insecurity, and occurrences of extreme weather events. This is likely to lead to population displacement, with the hosts being urban centers already experiencing a plethora of infrastructure inadequacies. Experience from the global south corroborates that mitigation and adaptation to climate change are challenges at the urban level due to socioeconomic conditions accentuated by insufficient regional and national assistance rendered to urban authorities. This paper therefore announces the African urban climate change mitigation and adaptation scenarios and further discusses the challenges the nations and cities in the global south face in mainstreaming climate change in the national urbanization agenda. To anchor the arguments, a concise review of literature and policy documents on climate change as informed by urban management practices in the global south is undertaken. Finally, the papers reflect on observations regarding the challenges posed by the mitigation strategies and propose ways forward for mainstreaming climate change in the urban sustainability agenda.

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Keywords

Urbanisation; Development; Climate change; Mitigation; Adaptation; Resilience City

Introduction

The Sustainable Development Goal 11 seeks to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable (United Nations, 2015). Additionally, the New Urban Agenda (2016, presents impetus among the development community to ensure the expansion of cities is sustainable in mitigating the impact of climate change. According to UN-Habitat (2018), over 50% of the world’s population will be living in urban areas by the year 2020. This is projected to be 68% by the year 2050. However, urbanization is relatively higher in Africa, where most countries are urbanizing at above 3.5% per year. While cities should be centers of economic growth, opportunity, and innovation, Africa, which is expected to attain an urban population of up to 1.3 billion by the year 2050, has continued to experience deteriorating urban services, growing informalities, and climate change (World Bank, 2016) [1].

With a 27% urban population and an urbanization rate of 4.3% a year, about half of the Kenyan population will be living in cities by 2050 (Government of Kenya, 2008). The anticipated growth will take place in the existing urban centers, consequently exacerbating levels of urban poverty, unemployment, proliferation of informal settlements, environmental risks, and increased exposure to disasters with adverse impacts on the urban poor and the vulnerable. Notwithstanding the above, Kenyan cities and urban areas, like elsewhere in Africa, are yet to mainstream climate change in urban resilience development plans, policies, and regulations as prioritized in Kenya’s long-term development plan (Government of Kenya, 2008) [2].

The nexus of urbanization and climate change

Cities are development hubs, as corroborated by the agglomeration of land uses within them. The agglomeration leads to both urban sprawl and internal densification to accommodate the increasing population and competition among land uses for strategic sites. Urban sprawl and re-densification compromise urban sustainability, which is a measure of urban condition as presented by air, water, and thermal quality, and the potential effectsthath such conditions may have on human health, urban ecosystems, and biodiversity. The effect of urbanization on global warming and climate change has raised challenges to urbanization theory, with efforts being made to postulate models explaining the correlation between the two. Despite various postulations on the relationship existing between urban morphological variables, urban air quality, and thermal values, the majority of the models offering an explanation for the same are descriptive rather than quantitative. However, it is quantitative models, facilitated by geospatial techniques that have a niche in validating the correlation and aiding in the formulation of environmental policies for the mitigation of global warming and climate change [3].

Climate change is the long-term shift in temperatures and weather patterns induced by anthropogenic activities and natural factors. However, since the 1800s, anthropogenic activities occasioned by agricultural development, deforestation, and the combustion of fossil fuels to support industrialization and transportation have been the main drivers of climate change. The combustion of fossil fuels Mote, generates greenhouse gases (GHGs), notably carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and suspended particulate matter (SPM). Other GHGs, which act as blankets wrapped around the earth, trapping the heat emitted by the earth from escaping to the atmosphere and subsequently causing global warming, are water vapour, methane, and ozone gases. Further postulation is put forward by Oke (1997) that for every increment of 100,000 urban populations, there is a corresponding 1°C temperature increase in the city. Climatologists have proved that while the average temperature of the earth’s surface is now about 1.1°C warmer than it was in the late 1800s (before the industrial revolution), the years from 2011 to 2020 were the warmest on record, with each successive decade being warmer than the preceding decade since 1850 [4 ].

In densely populated cities in the tropics, urban infrastructure, morphology, topography, and climate interact to produce uncomfortable thermal and hazardous effects. This is because cities influence GHG emissions and sinks both directly and indirectly (Sánchez-Rodríguez et al., 2005). For instance, carbon dioxide, which is a major component of the GHGs, is a by-product of urban anthropogenic activities such as industrial and transportation activities. Clearance of land for urban expansion and infrastructure development are drivers of regional land cover changes, which reduce global carbon sinks [5].

Empirical evidence shows that cities, which constitute 2% of the earth's surface, are responsible for 75% of global energy consumption and 80% of GHG emissions (Satterthwaite, 2008). This is occasioned by the distribution of development densities, land uses, and building configurations, which define a city’s form. The city’s form, in turn, influences the transportation mode used in the city, energy consumption, and GHG emissions. Proximity of homes and concentration of services, coupled with the provision of efficient public transportation accentuated by compact (high density) urban development, encourage walking, cycling, and the use of mass transportation, consequently leading to a decline in fossil fuel consumption per capita (Gottdiener & Budd, 2005). However, this is complicated by the fact that urban centers are industrial hubs, and GHG emissions coming from industries outstrip those from the transportation sector. A study of GHG emissions in Toronto City concludes that low-density suburban developments consume between 2.0 and 2.5 times more energy annually than densely developed neighbourhoods. This is because high development density encourages low car ownership and requires less energy for heating, cooling, and powering the buildings (VandeWeghe & Kennedy, 2007) [6 ].

Inasmuch as density is the best tool for shaping urban morphology, agreements on whether to adopt low or high development density are emotive. Views on the impacts of urban development densities have tended to be polarizing, as noted by the works of Howard (1898) and Jacobs (1996). While Howard (1898) argues that it is universally agreed by men of all parties that it is deeply deploring that people are still streaming into already overcrowded cities, Jacobs (1996), whose work, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, is taken as a mantra for the new urbanism movement (those opposed to suburban sprawl and restrictive residential enclaves), is passionate in the defense of high development densities. As noted by Burton (2000), inasmuch as high urban development densities lead to reduced living spaces, they have the ability to improve public transportation, reduce social segregation, and enhance access to utilities and amenities. Based on the lessons learned from European and North American cities, it is imperative to find a middle ground between the low-density and high-density development models. While high-density development is viewed as anti-suburbanization and indicative of claustrophobic squalor, poverty,and deprivation, low-density urbanism is equated with selfish gated communities and environmentally disastrous car-oriented suburbs (Dodman, 2009) [7].

While low development densities are viewed as the main causes of urban sprawl, which is associated with social isolation, the demise of farmlands and the extinction of wildlife, global warming, and climate change, the definition and effects of urban sprawl on environmental quality are widely debated. For example, some scholars argue that urban sprawl is inevitable because it is an outcome of free-market mechanisms (Gottdiener & Budd, 2005). Frenkel and Ashkenazi (2008) state five parameters for detecting urban sprawl: growth rates, development density, spatial geometry, accessibility, and aesthetics. In low- and middle-income countries, peri-urbanization is increasingly taking place, and the boundaries between urban and rural areas are continually being renegotiated. The interfaces between the two are often afflicted by slums, inadequate urban services, and the degradation of farmlands. This is because planning regulations are inadequately enforced in the peri-urban neighborhoods because such neighborhoods are outside the legal and administrative boundaries of the cities [8 ].

High urban development density is beneficial to the conservation of open spaces and natural resources, the enhancement of social relationships, and enabling urban authorities to deliver more housing stock, services, and employment stations within walking distances. However, high development densities exacerbate overcrowding and noise. Equally, changes associated with urban developments have profound effects on urban surface temperatures and air quality, which consequently have the effect of inducing global warming and climate change. New surface materials associated with urban buildings, roads, and other urban infrastructure alter the natural surfaces (vegetation), which consequently alters energy balance, water exchanges, and airflow. New surfaces have high thermal properties due to their ability to store more solar energy and convert the same to sensible heat [9].

Further, urban topographical features such as surface roughness, building configuration, and anthropogenic activities contribute to higher urban surface temperatures by generating and attenuating outgoing long-wave radiation. The skyscrapers provide multiple surfaces for the reflection and absorption of terrestrial energy. This hinders the loss of sensible heat and the distribution of the same, resulting in increased urban surface temperatures. Equally, building configuration further attenuates wind velocity and causes turbulence, which restricts air pollutants to building canyons, leading to the accumulation of pollutants in the city. According to Klaus et al. (1999), stale and polluted air accumulates in the highly built-up areas due to the convergence of air into the areas during the day because they are warm and act as urban heat islands. The area thus experiences warm, rising air during the day, but this may be replaced at night by cool, fresh air from adjacent cold neighborhoods. It is therefore evident that urban air quality and surface temperatures are determined by both anthropogenic and physical processes through the alteration of the natural ecology of cities and long-term energy exchanges taking place within the boundary layer, which consequently influence local, regional, and global climatic and terrestrial systems. The above results in distinct urban climates, in which cities are warmer than the surrounding rural areas but with internal urban spatiotemporal variations (Oke, 1997). On average, urban temperatures may be 10°C to 3°C warmer than rural environs, but on calm and cloudless nights, air temperatures can be more than 10°C warmer than the rural environs (Vougt, 2002). The dynamics equally lead to the alteration of the precipitation regime in the urban metropolis as well as the frequencies of urban floods and changes in urban biodiversity (Zhao & Wang, 2002; Dixon & Mote,2003). Therefore, global warming and climate change are a combined manifestation of the effects of GHG emissions and urban heat islands (Arnfield, 2003) [10].

Inasmuch as high urban development density encourages compact form, which reduces GHG emissions, high development densities cause urban heat island effects as well as increased outdoor and indoor air pollution (Coutts et al., 2007). As noted by Neumann (2005), compact urban form is not alone sufficient for the improvement of urban sustainability. Therefore, other strategies, such as the enactment of policies related to public transportation, building regulations, and reducing household energy consumption, must be entrenched in the urban development agenda if sustainability is to be realized (Campbell- Lendrum & Corvalán, 2007). For urban sustainability to be achieved, Jabareen (2006) identifies seven pillars that must be considered: urban form, public transportation, development density, mixed land uses, diversity, passive solar design, and greening. Indeed, doubling a neighborhood’s density combined with green buildings and smartgrowth technologies decreases automobile usage by 30%, thus resulting in a decline in gasoline consumption and GHG emissions (Walker & King, 2008) [11].

The urban spatial structure equally influences GHG emissions. This is demonstrated by energy usage differentials in four urban spatial structures, notably mono-centric, poly-centric, composite (multiple nuclei), and urban village models. In monocentric cities, most economic activities and amenities are concentrated in the Central Business District (CBD). In this scenario, the authorities focus on promoting public transportation as the most convenient mode of transportation, for most commuters travel from the suburbs to the CBD, while in the polycentric cities, few jobs and amenities are located in the center, and most trips are from suburb to suburb. In this regard, a large number of possible travel routes exist, but with few passengers per route. Therefore, public transportation becomes expensive to operate, making private means of transportation a convenient option for users [12].

The composite model manifests a dominant center with a large number of jobs located in the suburb’s minor centers. Therefore, most trips from the suburbs to the CBD are made using public transportation, while trips from suburb to suburb are made using private means of transportation. The urban village model is a utopian construct of urban master plans in which urban areas contain many business centers and commuters travel only to the center closest to their residence, thus creating opportunities to walk and cycle to work. The model presents an ideal scenario requiring less motorized modes of transportation due to the reduced distances traveled to work. This lowers energy usage and GHG emissions. The more the urban spatial structure encourages public transportation, cycling, or walking, the lower the emissions of GHGs, air pollutants, and climate change [13 ].

The primacy of vegetation in the nexus of urbanization and climate change is profound, for vegetation mitigates the heating and polluting effects generated by urban developments through a combination of photosynthesis, evapotranspiration, and shading effects. Vegetation, through photosynthesis sequences, releases carbon dioxide gas into the atmosphere, thereby mitigating the GHG effects (Weng et al., 2004). Vegetation facilitates urban cooling through evapotranspiration, which converts solar radiation into latent heat from vaporization. The latent heat of vaporization then escapes with the sensible heat to the atmosphere (Chudnovsky et al., 2004). Therefore, vegetation density differentials within urban neighborhoods explain the surface temperature variations among them. Vegetation also has an effect on the wind velocity and precipitation regime of urban areas, which in turn affects the urban air quality (Moll, 1997). In addition to mitigating climatic parameters, vegetation also impacts urban storm water management. For example, in Baltimore, it was determined that neighborhoods with 40% tree cover reduce surface runoff by 60% more than neighborhoods without trees. Indeed, the alteration of land cover indirectly modifies the urban climate. Kalnay and Cai (2003) estimate that in the United States of America, land-cover changes have resulted in 0.27°C mean annual surface warming. This is supported by Narisma and Pitman (2003), who observed the impacts of land cover change on temperatures in Australia. Other studies, such as Sailor and Fan (2002) and Unger et al. (2001), conclude that for large urban areas, depletion of vegetation cover increases surface temperatures by between 1.67°C and 2.22°C during the summer and by 5.6°C during the winter [14-18].

The effects of climate change to sustainable development in Africa

Africa, which is experiencing a rapid population growth rate of 2.8% per annum in the background of increasing poverty and shrinking natural resources, has experienced the ravages of climate change aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic, yet the continent accounts for about 2% to 3% of global GHG emissions (FAO, 2022). It is evident that Africa’s climate has warmed more than the global average since preindustrial times (1850-1900), and it is projected that extensive parts of the continent will exceed 2°C of warming above pre-industrial levels by the last two decades of the 21st century (IPCC, 2019). Continued global warming and climate change are likely to heighten the prevalence of disasters hitting the most vulnerable. Indeed, the ravages of climate change will be borne by the urban centers where the displaced population will congregate as climate refugees, heightening the urbanization of poverty. Some of the effects of climate change include increased temperatures and drought frequencies, retreating mountain glaciers, sea level rise, and the occurrence of extreme weather exemplified by heat waves, wildfires, and dust storms, especially in the predominantly desert countries of Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, and Libya. Other effects include high rainfalls leading to severe floods, elevated water levels in lakes and rivers, and the invasion of desert locusts. Drought also causes dwindling water stress and food insecurity [19].

At a global warming mean temperature of 2°C, significant climatological changes will occur in all sub-Saharan regions. According to the IPCC (2019), the Western Sahel region will experience an increased length of dry spells. Similarly, Central Africa will witness a decreased length of rainy seasons, but with a slight increase in the amount of rainfall. West Africa, which is a climate change hotspot, is likely to experience a decline in crop production, leading to food insecurity. At 2°C of warming, Southern Africa is projected to face a decrease in precipitation of about 20% and increases in the number of consecutive dry days in Namibia, Botswana, northern Zimbabwe, and southern Zambia. This will cause reductions of between 5% and 10% in the volume of the Limpopo and Zambezi Rivers (FAO, 2022) [20].

Climate change is likely to increase the intensity of natural hazards such as storms, cyclones, tsunamis, flooding, and erosion in coastal cities (Satterthwaite et al., 2007). According to the IPCC (2007), a rise in global average temperatures by 2°C will exacerbate coastal flooding, while temperature rises of more than 3°C may result in the loss of about 30% of global coastal wetlands and agricultural land as occasioned by water logging and salt stress. Other likely effects of temperature rise are inadequate freshwater supplies, destruction of property, loss of human lives, and increased prevalence of environmental, malnutrition, and cardiorespiratory diseases. In addition to the temperature rise associated with global warming and climate change inducing frequent and intense heat waves, it also results in additional costs of environmental control within buildings as well as an increased concentration of air pollutants in urban canyons (Kovats & Akhtar, 2008) [21 ].

Drought, floods, increased pests, and diseases associated with global warming and climate change have resulted in food insecurity and the loss of livelihoods at the regional, national, and individual household levels. By the middle of the 21st century, major cereal crops grown in Africa will be adversely impacted, albeit with regional variability and differences among crops. Under the worst-case climate change scenario, a reduction in the mean yield of maize is projected at 13% in West and Central Africa, 11% in North Africa, and 8% in East and Southern Africa. Millet and sorghum will experience a comparative minimal yield loss of 5% and 8%, respectively, by the year 2050 due to their greater resilience to heat-stress conditions, while rice and wheat are expected to be the most affected crops with a yield loss of 12% and 21%, respectively. The impact of this is already manifesting in the number of undernourished people, which has increased by 45.6% since 2012 in Sub-Saharan countries (FAO, 2022). Drought, desertification, and scarcity of resources have further heightened conflicts between crop farmers and pastoralists. In concert with the prevalence of armed conflict and military operations in Africa, millions of people have been displaced and require humanitarian assistance [22].

Whereas sea-level rise reached 5 mm per annum in several oceanic areas surrounding Africa, it exceeded 5 mm per year in the south-western Indian Ocean from eastwards Madagascar and beyond Mauritius. This is more than the average global sea-level rise of 3 mm to 4 mm per year. This has exacerbated coastal flooding, erosion, and salinity, which is expected to worsen in the future with implications for coastal towns, notwithstanding the impact the phenomenon has on the agriculture sector, ecosystems, and biodiversity. This has been complicated by other extreme events, such as cyclones, of which Tropical Cyclone Idai is cited as among the most destructive tropical cyclones ever recorded in the southern hemisphere and which resulted in hundreds of casualties and thousands of displacements (IPCC, 2019) [23].

An increase in temperature and changes in rainfall patterns will significantly affect population health across Africa, for warmer temperatures and higher rainfall provide conducive habitat for pathogens, insects, and the transmission of vector-borne diseases such as dengue fever, malaria, and yellow fever. In addition, new diseases are emerging in regions where they were previously not present. In 2017, an estimated 93% of global malaria deaths occurred in Africa. Similarly, warming in the East African highlands is allowing malariacarrying mosquitoes to survive at higher altitudes. Africa being an exposure and vulnerability hot spot for climate variability and change impacts, the continent is destined to significantly experience declining gross domestic product (GDP) occasioned by the global temperature increase (International Monetary Fund, 2023). For scenarios ranging between 1°C and 4°C increase in global temperatures relative to preindustrial levels, the continent’s overall GDP is expected to decrease between 2.25% and 12.12%, with West, Central, and East Africa exhibiting higher adverse impacts than Southern and North Africa (African Climate Policy Centre, 2021).

The compounded impacts of temperature increase, heat waves, floods, tropical cyclones, droughts, and sea level rise, resulting in loss of property and lives as well as population displacement, are undermining Africa’s ability to achieve the targets of the sustainable development goals and the African Union’s Agenda 2063, which outlines Africa’s path for attaining inclusive and sustainable economic growth and development. Water stress in Africa, occasioned by frequent droughts, receding lake and river volumes, disappearing glaciers and devastating floods, rising water demand combined with limited and unpredictable supplies, threatens to aggravate water-based conflict and displacements, which undermine human health and safety, food security, and other socio-economic development parameters, making urban communities, economies, and ecosystems increasingly vulnerable [24].

International and national agenda for the mitigation and adaptation to global warming and climate change

In its 13th goal on climate action, the Sustainable Development Goal Agenda endeavors to combat climate change and its impacts by limiting global warming to between 1.50C and 20C. Recognizing that the years from 2015 to 2021 were the warmest, accompanied by devastating climatic impacts, 196 countries came together in the year 2015 and signed the Paris Agreement, which was adopted on December 12, 2015, into the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21), a development that is significant for the reduction of GHG emissions and the building of climate resilience cities. All the African nations, except Angola, Eritrea, and South Sudan, are signatories to the agreement [25].

The twenty-second session of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 22) took place in Marrakesh, Morocco, on November 7-18, 2016. This marked the beginning of the preparations for the entry into force of the Paris Agreement and the implementation of actions addressing climate change. Further, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP23), which took place in Bonn, Germany, from November 6 to 18, 2017, and which brought together leaders of national governments, cities, states, businesses, investors, NGOs, and civil society, further accentuated the resolve of COP22 [26].

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP24), which took place from December 2 to 14, 2018 in Katowice, Poland, was instrumental in finalizing the rules and work plan for the implementation of the Paris Agreement. The convention also called for increased financial support from developed countries to assist in the climate action efforts of developing countries. Since 2015, the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) have become the main instrument for guiding policy responses to climate change. Towards this end, 52 African countries have submitted their first NDCs. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP25), which took place from December 2 to 16, 2019 in Madrid, Spain, came at a time when emerging data exhibited a worsening impact of climate change. This was authenticated by COP26, which took place from October 13th to November 13th, 2021, in Glasgow, the United Kingdom. The COP26 brought together 120 world leaders and over 40,000 participants from diverse sectors [27 ].

The United Nations has continued to encourage all stakeholders to take action towards reducing the impacts of climate change. This is corroborated by COP27, which was held in Egypt’s coastal city of Sharm el-Sheikh from November 6th to November 18th, 2022. In attendance were the heads of state, ministers, and negotiators, along with climate activists, mayors, civil society representatives, and chief executive officers of various companies. The convention built on the outcomes of COP26 on the delivery of issues critical to tackling the climate emergency, notably the need to urgently reduce GHG emissions, build climate resilience, adapt to climate change, and deliver on the commitments to finance climate action in developing countries. In concert with United Nations conventions, Africa’s Agenda 2063, which was concluded in 2013, has also recognized climate change as a major challenge to the continent’s socioeconomic development and has called for invigorating efforts towards the mitigation of the same. This is demonstrated by the ratification of the Paris Agreement by over 90% of the African nations with commitments to transition to green energy and agriculture within a relatively short time frame, as prioritized by over 70% of the African NDCs [28].

Other initiatives for mainstreaming climate change mitigation and adaptation into the urban development agenda are the urban resilience initiatives, which have been adopted by many global cities participating in the 100 Resilient Cities (100RC) Network, pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation to build cities’ capacity to become resilient to the environmental, physical, social, and economic challenges of which climate change is part. Apart from climate change, the 100 Resilient Cities Network supports cities in building resilience capacity to mitigate and adapt to shocks such as floods, fires, riots, and stresses such as urban poverty, unemployment, and an aging population, among others [29].

The realization that real action for climate change mitigation and adaptation should involve collaborations between national and county governments, business community, the civil society, and communities in reducing GHG emissions, initiatives at building climate resilience in Kenya include but not limited to the following:

i. Article 42 of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 guarantees the citizen’s clean and healthy environment. This empowers persons to seek legal redress in the courts of law when their right to a healthy and clean environment is violated or infringed upon. The courts are empowered to issue orders that prevent, stop or discontinue acts that are injurious to the environment and provide compensation to an offended party.

ii. Climate Change Act of 2023 - the Act is paramount for the development, management and implementation of mechanisms to enhance climate change resilience and low carbon emissions in Kenya. It is a precursor for the Kenya National Action Plan on climate change which aims at strengthening the country’s pathways to sustainable and climate resilient development.

iii. Environmental Management and Coordination Act (EMCA) of 1999 - A comprehensive environmental law providing legal framework for environmental management in Kenya. It covers various environmental issues including air pollution and empowers regulatory authorities to enforce compliance and take necessary actions to protect the environment.

iv. Urban Areas and Cities Act - An Act of Parliament giving effect to Article 184 of the Constitution. The Act provide for the classification, governance and management of urban areas and cities. One of the fundamental issues of governance considered in the Act is environmental management

v. Physical Planning and Land Use Act of 2019 regulates development of land for sustainability of which environmental consideration is part of.

vi. National Climate Change Response Strategy

vii. National Policy for Disaster Management

viii. Development of Kenya County Climate Risk Profile Series

ix. Development of Urban Resilience Strategies for five cities in Kenya, namely Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru and Eldoret since the year 2021

x. Nairobi Climate Action Plan 2020-2050

xi. Mombasa County Climate Change Action Plan

xii. Mombasa-Climate-Change-Policy, 2021

xiii. Kisumu Sustainable Mobility Plan 2021

xiv. The Kisumu County Disaster and Emergency Management Act, 2015

xv. Kisumu climate change policy

xvi. Kisumu County Climate Change Action Plan

xvii. Kisumu County Climate Change Act

Mainstreaming climate change mitigation and adaptation in urban management policies

As acknowledged by global frameworks and agreements such as the Sustainable Development Goals, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the Paris Agreement, mitigating and adapting to climate change requires the implementation of multiple strategies and techniques. Such strategies include the promotion of green infrastructure, innovative urban design and conservation, tightening up legislation on the protection of urban ecosystems such as green belts, gardens, and trees, urban river restoration, and the implementation of sustainable drainage and transportation networks. Other measures include cutting GHG emissions by reducing the utility of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and gas and switching to renewable energy sources such as solar energy. Indeed, the policy approach should promote investment in sustainable solutions such as ending subsidies on fossil fuels and ensuring that polluters pay for their pollution. Other measures include the popularization of the use of public transportation, the reduction of household energy consumption, investment in green transition, which accelerates the decarbonization of all aspects of the economy, the creation of green economies, jobs, and inclusive growth, as well as strengthening transboundary collaboration and corporations for climate resilience in the realization that no country can succeed alone in climate change mitigation and adaptation [30].

Additional measures for building resilience to climate change include strengthening early warning systems, data exchange, and knowledge sharing. Climate change mitigation and adaptation further require a new environmental contract encompassing civil society, public, and private sector participation, as well as a reorientation of legal, institutional, and development infrastructure towards delivering urban environmental quality. This should build on the strengths of planning and other environmental management strategies, which give more scope and encouragement to local action, behavioral change, and innovation. Therefore, building climate resilience in cities should be anchored on proactive policies focused on socioeconomic development strategies and institutional capacity building for planning, both at the community, city, and county and national government levels [31].

Inadequate consideration of climate change in national, county, and city plans leads to a potential increase in vulnerability and risks and a reduction in the coping capacities of urban communities and socioecological systems, yet development policies, urban plans, and climate programs are examples of immediate adaptation interventions. Therefore, there is a need to change the way current development and climate policies are positioned and prepared across cities in Africa, as well as the capacity of urban plans and planning practices to respond to climate risk. Climate change awareness, analysis, and action need to be improved, along with the enactment of dynamic, comprehensive risk assessment and flexible climate adaptation strategies [32].

Enhancement of vegetation cover within the city through the adoption of sustainable urban growth policies is imperative for climate change mitigation and adaptation. Recent studies show that nature-based solutions can contribute up to a 37% reduction in GHG emissions required to keep global warming below 2°C (IPCC, 2019). This is occasioned by the vegetation’s ability to sequestrate carbon dioxide, subsequently reducing the GHG effects to mitigate global warming and climate change. Further, vegetation moderates surface temperatures, making vegetation density the most significant urban morphological variable influencing urban thermal values. However, this may be negated by the urban sprawl characterizing many cities in the south. Therefore, measures such as the design and implementation of appropriate, innovative, and dynamic development policies geared towards increasing vegetation cover should be prioritized. Such policies should entail the implementation of programs such as the development of urban forests, arboretums, open parks, playgrounds, and/or village squares and picnic sites in residential, commercial, and industrial neighborhoods, as well as tightening up legislation protecting urban ecosystems such as green belts, gardens, and urban river restoration, among others. The above can be achieved through the implementation of development policies that minimize land fragmentation and urban sprawl, such as up-scaling of skylines through increments of plot coverage, ratios, and minimum plot sizes for various developments [33].

Hindrances to the enhancement of vegetation cover in the cities are ad-hoc enactments of development control policies and regulations, inadequate implementation of the development plans, and land speculation, which accentuate the proliferation of illegal developments, leading to undesirable land use and land cover conversions. To rectify this, the cities should regularly update the existing development plans and enforce strict adherence to the development control standards. This should also include shortening the plan approval process to minimize illegal developments. The evolved development plans should spell out the number of trees to be planted per acreage of a developed plot. In accordance with the provisions of the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations of 2003, all the proposed developments within the cities that is likely to generate significant GHGs should be subjected to environmental impact assessment and enforced by the National Environment Management Authority in conjunction with the city authorities [34].

Privatization and restitution concepts, which have found niches in the management of public affairs, have altered the urban housing market. The concepts empower the private sector to be the main providers of urban housing, yet the sector is more interested in providing housing for middle- and high-income groups. This has made housing unaffordable for the urban poor, who move to the urban periphery and/or open lands to establish informal settlements, consequently leading to rapid land use and land cover changes as well as environmental degradation. Therefore, the government should roll out sustainable urban low-income housing development programs if the environmental degradation and encroachments into fragile ecosystems, which are carbon sinks, have to be managed [35 ].

Industries and motor vehicles emit GHGs and suspended particulate matter, contributing to global warming and climate change. Therefore, cities should formulate policies and enact legislation and standards for the reduction of air pollution. The policies should include the popularization of public and non-motorized modes of transportation as well as limiting the number of vehicles coming into the city. Other transportation policy measures should include the development of arterials that support rapid vehicular flow, for it has been established that vehicles emit more GHGs and suspended particulate matter when their speeds are low. However, for the above to be undertaken, there is a need for frequent air quality monitoring, which can be achieved through the establishment of an adequate network of stationary air quality monitoring stations as well as mobile air quality monitoring along road transects and in industrial plants [36].

Climate information is the foundation of climate change resilience building. However, limited uptake and use of climate information services in development planning in Africa is partially due to the paucity of reliable and timely climate information. Despite climate action gaining momentum, only 40% of the African population has access to early warning systems to protect them against extreme weather and climate change impacts (IPCC, 2019). This necessitates the prioritization of universal access to early warnings and the revision of the national climate plans. Additionally, there is a need for increased investment in hydrometeorological data collection and the improvement of climate service provision in Africa. Currently, 28 countries provide climate services from a basic to an essential level. While only 9 countries provide the services at full level, only 4 countries are providing end-to-end drought forecasting services at advanced capacity (IPCC, 2019) [37].

In undertaking regular reviews of development plans and standards as earlier proposed, cognizance should be taken of land use suitability. This is important in protecting fragile ecosystems such as forests and riparian reserves against encroachment by anthropogenic activities. The land use suitability analysis is also imperative in protecting human life and property against disasters such as floods. However, the above can be efficiently undertaken if the city authorities institute the utility of geospatial, information, and communication technologies, notably remote sensing and geographic information systems, as planning tools in line with sustainable development goals stipulations. This is also imperative for climate-proofing urban planning strategies and the promotion of evidence-based decision-making (Oyugi, 2018) [38]. As occasioned by increased frequencies of sewer blockages and bursts, there are indications that developments in African cities are surpassing the capacity of the existing infrastructure. Therefore, for the cities to continue supporting the current population through re-densification of the existing land uses to curtail urban sprawl, expansion and regular maintenance of the urban infrastructure such as water, sewers, and roads should be prioritized. In order to finance such climate change mitigation projects, city authorities should actively seek out and utilize financial resources from international, national, and their own funding mechanisms, actively involve the private sector through public-private sector partnerships, and establish capacitybuilding programs and trainings to improve climate change awareness and analysis among urban planning practitioners, policymakers, and the general public.

Despite the constitutional stipulations on the involvement of the citizens in the formulation and implementation of the development plan, it is glaring that the current climate change mitigation and adaptation paradigms operational in the Kenyan cities are not peopledriven, and various development agents feel left out in the process. Therefore, in the evolution and review of the climate action plans for the cities, the people and various development agents should be brought on board. This makes it easy for people and the development agents to understand the issues entailed in the plans and to take charge of implementing them. Therefore, city authorities should reactivate policy on partnership building with citizens and other development agents, as well as register neighborhood associations and empower them to undertake self-driven development control and climate change compliance monitoring. It is equally imperative to explore a broad-based (in terms of issues and stakeholders) and participatory institutional framework on which various strategies that is meant to enhance the cities’ climate resilience can be implemented. Further to the above, the capacity of cities should also be strengthened to ensure effective implementation of climate change mitigation and adaptation policies and plans [39].

A promising approach to the reduction of climate risks and hazards posed by extreme weather events in Kenya is the reduction of poverty through the promotion of socioeconomic growth in the agricultural sector, which employs approximately 60% of the population (World Bank, 2016). This should entail the utility of value-added techniques using green energy sources in agricultural production. For example, solar-powered, efficient micro-irrigation is increasing farm-level incomes by between 5 and 10 times, improving yields by up to 300%, and reducing water usage by up to 90% while at the same time offsetting carbon emissions by generating up to 250 kW of clean energy (International Monetary Fund, 2023).

Conclusion

While strategizing mitigation and adaptation to climate change, cognizance should be taken of the correlation existing between urbanization, global warming, and climate change. Therefore, with growing urbanization, global warming and climate change are likely to reach significant levels with varied consequences. However, urbanization is inevitable, and cities shall continue to be anchors to socioeconomic development, as corroborated by the concentration of industries and as transportation hubs in their hinterlands. This will exacerbate GHG emissions if sustainable strategies are not enacted to mitigate them. Mitigation of climate change is possible with concerted partnershipbuilding efforts among various stakeholders at international, national, and city levels. This is because the GHGs responsible for climate change are transboundary and multisource phenomena. Indeed, efforts should be geared towards data and knowledge sharing based on best practices. The primacy of public awareness and participation in the policies enacted to mitigate and adapt to climate change is imperative to achieving the objective. As much as high urban development density encourages compact urban form, which reduces GHG emissions, it is not a panacea for the mitigation and adaptation of climate change. As such, other strategies popularizing public transportation and reducing household energy consumption must be entrenched in the urban development agenda.

References

African Climate Policy Centre (2021). State of the Climate in Africa 2021. World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Geneva, Switzerland.

Indexed at

Arnfield AJ (2003) Two decades of urban climate research: a review of turbulence, exchanges of energy and water, and the urban heat island. International Journal of Climatology: a Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society 23: 1-26.

Journal of Earth Science & Climatic Change Open Access