26.2 per cent of the optimal tea growing areas the east African nation by mid-century, while it would also reduce nearly 40 per cent of the medium quality growing conditions within the same time frame.
“For generations we have carefully cultivated our tea farms and we are proud that the tea that we grow here is the best in the world,” Richard Koskei, a tea farmer from Kenya’s western highlands, told Agence France-Presse. “But climate change poses a real threat to us. We cannot predict seasons anymore, temperatures are rising, and rainfall is more erratic.”
The analysis further noted that this could threaten the livelihoods of more than three million people in Kenya’s tea industry over the next two decades.
Meanwhile, one of the world’s tea consumers, the United Kingdom, is set to host the United Nations’ Climate Change Conference (COP26), in Glasgow, later this year. The summit is expected to be the most important climate meeting since the 2015 Paris Agreement, with COP26 negotiations presenting a vital opportunity for rich nations to provide the required support for poorer countries in order to adapt to climate change.
“As a major historical polluter and the creator of the industrial revolution the UK has played a big part in the climate emergency which we Kenyans are suffering from,” Mohamed Adow, director of climate and energy think tank The Power Shift Africa, said. “This year, as hosts of the G7 and COP26, the UK has a big role to play in tackling it.”
“The whole world will be watching, especially Kenyan tea farmers and other people on the front lines of the climate crisis,” he added.
