Climate change activists, deniers fight for hearts and minds in Kenya
Over the past two decades, new weather patterns have become all too common in eastern Africa, killing off crops, pasture and livestock. Conversely, Kenya saw heavy flooding that killed dozens of people and displaced tens of thousands more this year.
Twenty-four-year-old Dorcas Naishorua, who was named Miss Climate Kenya in May, has experienced what climate change can do to lives and livelihoods. Naishorua is a member of the Maasai tribe. Her community relies on livestock for survival. Members move from one place to another in search of water and pasture for their animals to survive.
"Since the onset of the serious climate crisis, I have personally been affected by it,” she said. “The same livestock my parents depended on to take me to school, most of them were lost during the drought, and due to that, I had to cut short my education."
Naishorua said she is using her platform to educate her community about climate change and how to deal with its effects.
"We have stopped lamenting,” she said. “Now we have a drought. What changes are we bringing? So, through my capacity, I have been engaging with different rescue centers. I have been with different schools in tree growing and sensitization what is a tree and what tree to plant where I have been doing that on my platforms."
But as some activists try to build climate resilience, Kenyan farmer Jusper Machogu is attracting the attention of climate change deniers or skeptics, and his social media network is growing by the day.
Just today, he shared a video on X of former U.S. President Donald Trump denying climate change and said, “I think he represents some of my views, and so I kind of like him.”
Machogu, a farmer in Kisii, Kenya's highland region, says he denies climate change is taking place because he believes it is hard to predict weather patterns.
Mochugu, who is also an agricultural engineer, says he supports the exploration and use of fossil fuels, which scientists have shown to be a major factor in global warming due to the emission of carbon dioxide.
Machogu says clean energy sources cannot replace fossil fuels like oil and gas.
"We have plenty of fossil fuels,” he said. “We have plenty of natural gas. We have it in Uganda. We have it in Nigeria. We have oil in Angola, Namibia, all of these countries. But now we're being told that we should not use that to flourish. We should not use it.”
And he spoke of the importance of fossil fuels.
“And most people don't realize how important, how crucial fossil fuels are,” he said. “Like we can't have steel if we don't use fossil fuels; there is no way to produce steel minus fossil fuels. Most people have heard that solar and wind are going to save the world, but solar and wind is just electricity."
African farmers have experienced severe impacts from climate change. Weather patterns have become unpredictable, making it difficult for them to prepare land, grow food, and harvest on time.
Environmental earth scientist Edward Mugalavai says climate change skeptics could be won over with greater development of clean energy sources.
"When you touch on the issue of fossil fuel, then it is like you are telling people you reduce industrialization,” he said. “That cannot happen. But what we are coming up with is to come up with green energy solutions where people can continue to industrialize but use green energy that does not pollute the environment. But if you have alternatives, people can easily accept the changes that are taking place."
Naishorua, Kenya’s Miss Climate, said those denying climate change should check how their environment has changed over the years.
If that is too difficult to observe, she said, then they should take care and protect the environment around them.