Data released by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has  confirmed 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 as the four warmest years on record.

According to the analysis, the global average surface temperature in 2018 was approximately 1.0° Celsius above the pre-industrial baseline (1850-1900).

This data confirm the urgency of addressing climate action – as emphasized by the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) special report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

The IPCC report that found that limiting global warming to 1.5°C will require “rapid and far-reaching transitions in land, energy, industry, buildings, transport, and cities” and that global net human-caused emissions of carbon dioxide would need to fall by about 45 per cent from 2010 levels by 2030, reaching ‘net zero’ around 2050.

Comment: As part of the global response to this challenge through practical and strategic actions the EAC needs to incorporate provisions of the Paris Agreement in its Climate Change Policy under review as well as the proposed EAC Climate Change law. This will further strengthen climate action (especially to strengthen resilience and adaptation of communities and ecosystems on which millions of East Africans depend, promote nature-based solutions and to effectively mobilize the much needed climate finance, among others) in the region in addition to what is already underway at the respective Partner State level.