Be the Change: Young Climbers for Climate Action
Hey, everyone & fellow climbers!
Climbing High for Climate Action
I want to talk to you about something that’s been on my mind a lot lately – climate change.
I’ve been reading about how climate change is changing the weather patterns across the world. It’s not just a little warmer; everything is going haywire. You might have heard the term global warming many times already.
You know those massive glaciers that make our climbs so epic? They’re melting. You can imagine climbing to the peaks of Mount Kenya or Mount Kilimanjaro, and there are no icy summits. That’d mess up the whole landscape.
Tree Planting
There are efforts to combat climate change.
Fortunately, the government is on the frontline. For example, in September 2023, Kenya hosted the Africa Climate Week and the Africa Climate Summit. The former is an annual event that brings together stakeholders to discuss strategies to reduce greenhouse emissions. The latter is where leaders pledge their commitment to the law and policy frameworks.
During this event, the president of Kenya, William Ruto, launched several policies to spearhead climate action at the national and local levels. These policies include the National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP) and the Climate Change Act (Amendment 2023). He also handed over seven billion Shillings for climate action activities in counties.
Almost two months later, in November, the president led a national tree-planting exercise to plant 15 billion trees by 2032. The government also provided 150 million seedlings through the Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI) and Kenya Forest Service (KFS).
What Kenya is Doing
YouTube
Check Out Our Video About Tree Planting
Tree planting is a crucial and impactful strategy in the fight against climate change and environmental degradation. Trees play a vital role in mitigating climate change.
How You Can Help
Change our Ways
Mitigating and adapting to climate change are critical global challenges that require concerted efforts to reduce emissions, transition to renewable energy sources, and build resilience in communities and ecosystems. Addressing climate change is essential for the well-being of current and future generations and the health of the planet.
Cleaner Energy
Our country is sunny most of the year, enabling us to generate solar power. We also have regions where we can harness wind energy. Do you know Marsabit County has the largest wind power station in the world? If we can utilize such energy and reduce reliance on fossil fuels like coal and natural gas, we can enjoy cleaner air and reduce the greenhouse gases we produce.
Spread the Word
We love our mountains, right? Let’s tell everyone about what’s happening with climate change. The more people know, the more likely we are to make a change.
Sustainable Agriculture
Adopting sustainable agricultural practices, such as precision farming and agroforestry, can reduce emissions and enhance carbon sequestration in soils.
My Climate Action Goal: I'm Scaling Hills to Save Peaks
It’s not too late to join the fight against human actions that cause climate change. For instance, as mountain climbers, we can aim for SDG13. Climate action is for everyone, including teen hikers.
SDG13 is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations. SDGs, in general, are a universal call for the world to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all. The world hopes to achieve these SDGs by 2030. SDG13 is specific to climate, and it addresses the urgent need to take action to combat climate change.
Under this SDG
The World Hopes...
To strengthen its resilience to natural disasters and include climate change measures in national policies. On top of that, raise awareness and increase the capacity to face hazards arising from climate change.
Mountain climbers and adventure enthusiasts can play a role in raising awareness about the impact of climate change on nature and adopt practices that minimize their ecological footprint.
Therefore, I’m raising awareness about the little things we can do to save these mountains that we love.
We might see shifts in vegetation zones when temperatures rise. Plant and animal species may move to higher elevations when this happens. It’ll change the distribution of mountain vegetation as we know it. Additionally, the downstream areas may not get sufficient water resources when the snow melts higher up on the mountains. Imagine not experiencing the beauty of Mount Kenya lakes because the snow melted higher, meaning less water flowing downstream.
Further, climate change may increase the frequency and intensity of certain natural disasters in mountainous regions, such as avalanches, landslides, and rockfalls. These will make our adventures risky and almost impossible. The communities on the foothills will experience natural disasters and low agricultural productivity. When we stop hiking, the guides and porters from these local communities will be unemployed.
So, yeah, we’re all about climbing those epic peaks and having wild adventures, but let’s also be the heroes who stand up for our planet.
As I climb Mount Meru, Kilimanjaro, and Kenya from November to December, I want to highlight little things we can do to conserve nature. These include leaving no trash on mountains.
I will also document the beauty of the places we visit so you can see how much we’ll lose when the world continues getting warmer. In addition, my brother and I will plant a tree on each mountain to signify our commitment to spreading awareness for climate action