Reintroducing the Climate Change Conversation in East Africa

A REPORT demonstrating the need for East African countries to formulate comprehensive climate change adaptation strategies that focus on the needs of the people.

Abstract
Climate change has both a direct impact on the development of climate-dependent activities (such as infrastructure and agriculture) and indirect consequences for social systems (such as issues of poverty, conflict, health and education). As a result, climate change has the potential to undermine and even undo socio-economic development in East Africa, and governments and institutions must come together to formulate long-term adaptation strategies.

Despite growing climate impacts, communication around these issues remains fragmented, often technical, and disconnected from local realities. Current approaches frequently fail to engage diverse audiences or promote actionable understanding, leading to limited public awareness and policy momentum.

Drawing on case studies, this report hopes to demonstrate the need for East African countries to formulate comprehensive climate change adaptation strategies that focus on the needs of the people and are integrated into sustainable development across the region. Rather than imposing new, high-tech solutions, specific proposals include understanding, documenting, and enhancing current livelihood coping techniques.

Introduction

Climate change has quickly shifted from being a very tangible menace to becoming a concrete reality worldwide, with its impacts being felt across various regions, including East Africa. The continent is indeed one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change globally, despite accounting for only 4% of global emissions.

East Africa, encompassing countries such as Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Somalia, is particularly vulnerable due to its reliance on agriculture and limited adaptive capacity: almost 70% of the population is employed in activities which are directly linked to agriculture, one of the most affected sectors by climate change effects. Just to mention a few examples: In 2019, a drought in East Africa affected an estimated 15 million people, while rainfall variability led to floods in Kenya in 2020 that displaced over 300,000 people and caused significant losses to the agricultural sector. Moreover, the rise in temperature could lead the region to lose 10% to 20% of major staple crops production, such as maize and beans, by 2050.

However, the effects of climate change are not only limited to agricultural activities, but are cross-cutting across all socio-economic activities and causing natural resources progressive depletion. The African Development Bank estimates that climate-related losses could reach up to 2% to 4% of GDP per year by 2040.

One of the areas that is accorded insufficient attention is communicating matters of climate change for the long term, to lead to behaviour change. Climate change communication is a budding field that reviews a range of factors that relate to how climate change is communicated. Consequently, it comprises a wide range of research approaches, encompassing both qualitative and quantitative methods. Most significantly, it also adopts strategies that are persuasive to transform attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours relating to climate change. Whereas local radio stations in areas such as Taita Taveta County in Kenya and Sembabule District in Uganda, under ICPAC’s ACREI Project, provide regular location-specific weather updates and forecasts, there is little or no focus on long-term climate change communication. This may be on account of insufficient participatory communication tools by either the media houses in Eastern Africa, or limited engagement by climate change experts in the region, and the low level of community participation.

This report aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of climate change conversation in East Africa’s examining various aspects including projected climate, barriers to effective climate communication and reframing climate conversation. By breaking down these challenges, potential solutions aiming to provide a comprehensive understanding of how climate communication functions can aid in the mitigation of climate change in the region.

Methodology 

Climate change communication is a budding field that reviews a range of factors that relate to how climate change is communicated. Consequently, it comprises a wide range of research approaches, encompassing qualitative and quantitative methods. Most significantly, it also adopts persuasive strategies to transform attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours relating to climate change.

This report will consult an array of sources to establish an accurate understanding of the viability of climate change conversation in East Africa. Reputable international organisations like the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC) and African Development Bank will be heavily relied upon as secondary sources.

A core analytical framework used in this study is the article “Communicating Climate Change in East Africa” by ICPAC. The article emphasises long-term, participatory approaches that move beyond short-term weather forecasts. It stresses the importance of empowering local media, especially radio, to deliver risk-based, culturally relevant messages using storytelling and community voices.

Firstly, the climate policy landscape as well as the current and projected climate impacts are analysed in depth, along with supporting collaboration frameworks to mitigate climate change in the region. Following this, communication barriers are explored with their challenges and scepticism around them. After this is the reframing of climate conversation through multi-stakeholder engagements and contextual approaches. 

Furthermore, the study incorporates case study analysis, examining Kenya's county-level climate action plans and Ethiopia's Climate-Resilient Green Economy communication. These case studies are great examples that offer practical insights into how East Africa can adapt climate resilience strategies, such as Ethiopia’s National Adaptation Plan (NAP-ETH) to reduce vulnerability to the impacts of climate change by building adaptive capacity and resilience. By combining policy analysis, communication theory, and practical examples, the report provides a comprehensive foundation for identifying effective, locally relevant strategies to enhance climate resilience through informed dialogue.

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