East African Community advances regional climate strategy

The East African Community (EAC) is advancing a coordinated 10-year climate change strategy to address climate risks, strengthen resilience, and support sustainable economic transformation across the region, the bloc said in a statement on Friday.

EAC Acting Director of Productive Sectors, Simon Kiarie, said the strategy will operationalize the climate change policy by turning its provisions into actionable programs and investments and improving access to climate finance through credible regional projects.

The strategy prioritizes four areas: strengthening early warning systems and adaptation, advancing a low-carbon and circular economy, restoring ecosystems through transboundary actions, and enhancing governance and institutional capacity, according to the statement.

The World Meteorological Organization’s State of the Climate in Africa 2023 report shows African countries lose 2–5% of gross domestic product (GDP) annually due to climate extremes, with up to 9% of national budgets being redirected to disaster response. In East Africa, losses are projected to reach 2–4% of GDP per year by 2040.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change estimates that 4.7 million people across EAC member states face persistent climate-related crises, a figure expected to rise once the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Somalia join as new members.