CS Barasa intensifies DP Kindiki's push for stronger action at COP30

Kenya has sharply escalated its demand for tougher global climate action at the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP 30) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Belém, Brazil, with Environment,Climate Change and Forestry Cabinet Secretary Dr. Deborah Mlongo Barasa pressing world leaders to deliver fairer, faster, and more ambitious climate outcomes. 

Her intervention comes just days after Deputy President Kithure Kindiki addressed the COP30 Leaders Summit, where he called for urgent reforms to global climate finance and more equitable support for developing nations.

Dr. Barasa carried that message forward as she joined African ministers at the Africa Group of Negotiators (AGN) ministerial consultative session on the sidelines of the conference. Her remarks underscored Kenya’s position; that Africa’s realities, marked by intensifying droughts, devastating floods, and rising economic losses, must be reflected in every major decision at COP30.

Speaking during the high-level briefing, Dr. Barasa reaffirmed Africa’s unwavering commitment to the UN Climate Convention and the Paris Agreement. She said COP30 represents a decisive test of global responsibility and a chance to deliver measurable progress on the intertwined crises of climate change and sustainable development.

“This COP is a crucial opportunity for the world to show that collective action can deliver meaningful results for people and the planet,” she said.

Across the AGN session, African ministers presented a united front, insisting that the continent’s special needs and circumstances be explicitly captured in negotiations. Dr. Barasa noted her assessment of the gap between Africa’s ambition and the commitments from developed nations, calling for genuine engagement and meaningful financial and technological support.

She urged Parties to produce balanced, operational guidance across all key pillars of the Paris Agreement, mitigation, adaptation, finance, and means of implementation, arguing that only comprehensive action can reflect Africa’s climate priorities.

“Most African Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) remain conditional. Timely and adequate support is essential if we are to deliver the climate actions our countries have committed to,” she said.

Deputy President Prof. Kithure Kindiki delivers his address at the COP30 Heads of State and Government Leaders Summit in Belém, Brazil.

Deputy President Kindiki, before departing Brazil for Kenya, had struck an equally firm tone. He warned that global climate ambition will stall unless “climate financing pledges are honoured” and unless the “global financial architecture is reformed to make capital more accessible and affordable for climate action in the developing world.”

He added that climate policies must “integrate the empowerment of women, the youth, and farmers,” ensuring communities benefit equitably from the green economy.

Dr. Barasa was accompanied by Dr. Pacifica Ogola, Director of Climate Change at the Ministry of Environment and a key member of Kenya’s technical delegation.

As negotiations deepen in Belém, African countries are expected to intensify their push for scaled-up climate finance, stronger adaptation mechanisms, and implementation pathways that reflect the continent’s vulnerabilities and development aspirations. Dr. Barasa reiterated Africa’s readiness to uphold its obligation, but insisted that global partners must demonstrate matching ambition.