Con Job Or Global Mission?Beyond The Podium! EU,China & Citizens Unite On Climate Solutions.

By Moraa Nyangorora

"This climate change, it's the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world, in my opinion".

US President Donald Trump- statement while addressing the United Nations General Assembly(UNGA)

Taking to the podium in NewYork, President Donald Trump openly dismissed climate change, again!, describing global initiatives to reduce carbon emission as green scams.

Trump's stance is not new, in a post on twitter (Trump, 2012), he described global warming as a concept created by and for, the Chinese in order to give them an edge over the US in manufacturing.

The statement at the high level United Nations General Assembly UNGA meeting (23 Sept 2025), may seem to jolt skepticism , but it pales to other significant events that demonstrate a determination by other players towards clean energy.

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n the halls of Brussels, the European Union forges ahead with its ambitious Green Deal, while in Beijing, China is pledging to ramp up clean energy.

In its statement of intent approved by the Council of the EU September 2025, European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen pledged to submit its updated Nationally Determined Contribution NDC before the upcoming COP30 summit that begins in November in Belem, Brazil.

'Europe will stay the course on our climate ambition".

Von der Leyen underscored the bloc's commitment noting that the EU is expected to make the submission ahead of COP30 with an indicative 2035 target in a range between 66.25 per cent and 72.5 per cent green gas emissions reduction compared to 1990 levels.

The EU's demonstrated leadership on climate in view of the prevailing politics is critical, reinforcing the need for strengthened international cooperation on an issue that affects all.

In July 2025, EU and China reached a pact to accelerate the drive to a just transition in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication.

China also agreed to submit its 2035 NDC's covering all economic sectors and all greenhouse gases.

At the UN General Assembly, its representatives affirmed their intention to increase investments in renewable energy while scaling down financing for overseas coal projects.

These efforts come in the midst of a growing movement of citizens from 93 countries rising up to demand that leaders act with the urgency required to enable the earth breathe.

A digital campaign mobilised across continents #endfossilfuels peaks, with the agenda to push leaders to end fossil fuels.

Global media like the Guardian are capturing sentiments from the people determined to push forward with carbon reduction plans by rejecting fossil fuel.

"It's so sad to watch the sun going to waste. Every single day, energy from heaven going to waste while we drill down to hell for another dose of the stuff that is wrecking this planet".

Bill McKibben(Activist)

A Kenyan citizen narrates experiences triggered by climate change during the launch of climate impact report 2024

Global Momentum For Action

UN Secretary General Antonio Gutteres is urging more action to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. In a press release he painted the present reality of a people determined to save the planet.

“The science demands action. The law commands it. The economics compel it. And people are calling for it.”

COP30 beckons as political resistance and grass root momentum play out.

Trumps dismissive statement may entrench polarisation but it is evident that multilateral cooperation backed by an empowered citizenry will sustain the global efforts towards net zero.

The outcome at COP30 will be a pointer to where the world is heading in achieving the 2030 climate targets.

Terms Explained

NDC- Nationally Determined Contribution (National Climate Action Plans Under the Paris Agreement) Each country that is party to the agreement submits its plan outlining commitments to address climate change. This demonstrates how it will reduce and adapt to climate impacts.

Cradle To Cradle Taking Root As Climate & Health Incentives Collide

Nairobi- In gated communities in the city's middle class neighbourhoods residents are reworking the life cycle of everyday waste.

What began as grassroots neighbourhood clean ups and pilot recycling projects has matured into a practical, cradle to cradle approach; separating, repairing, composting and redesigning waste flows so material remain useful- not disposable.

Gated communities are collaborating through neighbourhood associations, to pursue sustainability in waste management.

The Metro Residents Alliance Association of Kenya (ANMRA) , a city wide initiative that seeks to enhance collaborations amongst residents in gated communities is championing circular economy.

In a post on X, Teddy Obiero an official of ANMRA spearheading the recycling infrastructure notes that residents have moved from awareness to action.

Segregation of waste at source for recycling

Waste management is a crisis across cities in the world. A United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report warns that solid waste will surge unless circular solutions are embraced.

UNEPs Global Waste Management Outlook 2024 projects municipal waste to rise from 2.3 billion tonnes in 2023 to nearly 3.8 billion tonnes by 2050, and that a circular economy approach could turn a looming cost into a net economic gain.

UNEPs Executive Director Inger Anderson says cities need to decouple growth from waste, for the health of the planet.

Waste generation is intrinsically tied to GDP"

Inger Anderson

FROM SEGREGATION BINS TO LOCAL INDUSTRY

Further away in rural Kenya, in Kisii county residents are turning farm waste like banana trees into beautiful bags through women groups and earning an income.

Moraa explains how they turn farm waste into beautiful ornaments in Kisii

CRADLE TO CRADLE FOR CLIMATE AND HEALTH

The cradle to cradle model as opposed to the cradle to dump sites is inspired by natural systems where waste is an input for another process.

A resident in Kisii crushing waste from glass into powder to make cabro and pots

These are cradle to cradle building blocks: keeping materials circulating at their highest value, creating local jobs and reducing the methane and CO2 footprint of unmanaged refuse.

Finished product from glass waste

UNEP links poor waste handling to greenhouse emissions ( especially methane from organic waste) micro plastic pollution and local air and water contamination that undermine human health.

The report finds that better waste prevention and management could avoid billions of dollars in hidden costs from pollution, health burdens and climate damage.

A low income neighbourhood in Kenya's capital choking from poor waste management

UNEPs 2024 outlook stresses that municipal action must be matched by policy: incentivising product redesign, enforcing extended producer responsibility, financing local waste infrastructure, and protecting informal waste workers during transitions.

The report show that, adopting full circular economy measures could convert a projected multi hundred billion dollar cost into a new annual gain by 2050- an economic as well as environmental argument for action.

Women group displays handbags woven from farm waste.

Scaling cradle to cradle across Kenya, requires sustained behaviour change, affordable collection services for lower income neighbourhoods, secure markets for recycled materials and technical support for composting and small scale processors.

Every ton of waste diverted from landfills cuts methane emissions, every recycled material reduces demand for virgin resources; and every community that reimagines waste as wealth helps bend the curve on global warming.

These innovative ways of handling waste demonstrates that solutions begins right at our doorstep towards a cleaner, greener earth.

Technology is Shaping the Fight for Climate Justice

The Urgency of Action

By Moraa Nyangorora

AI Generated Image of the digital rallies by movements from 93 countries to press for Climate Justice- End Genocide, Injustice, Fossil Fuels and Call for Rights, Jobs and Justice.

The Global Week of Action began on September 15, 2025, with an online rally. Activists and performers from various movements addressed the urgent need to mobilise for climate justice and systemic change.

Draw the Line – Global Week of Action

"We are part of a global movement rising together to say: enough is enough. From debt and poverty to fossil fuel tyranny, we are uniting across borders to resist more destruction and reclaim our future. This is a moment of reckoning. We are drawing the line for justice, for life, for the planet."

Tyrone Scott, Senior Movement Building and Activism Officer, War on Want

This call to action serves as a rallying cry.

It is supported by workers, youth, indigenous groups, and social movements.

A network of global climate organizations is convening this effort, including 350.org, CAN-International, APMDD, and War on Want. Local, regional, and global movements are joining forces.

"On the same day that this campaign launches, the climate clock will tick down to less than four years for the first time in history. We know the solutions. Most of the world is already taking action. Humanity has drawn the line."

Gan Golan, Co-Founder of the Climate Clock describing the digital urgency.