Africa facing climate impact 'nightmare': Kenyan President

The worst drought in 40 years is gripping Kenya and the wider Horn of Africa region, threatening millions with starvation

The crushing impacts of climate change are already a "living nightmare" for people across Africa, Kenyan President William Ruto told world leaders at U.N. talks on Monday.

The U.N. climate Conference of the Parties talks in Egypt billed as the "African COP", are set to be dominated by calls from developing countries that rich polluters pay for the harm their emissions have already caused, known as "loss and damage".

"Africa contributes less than three percent of the pollution responsible for climate change, but it's most severely impacted by the ensuing crisis," Mr. Ruto said.

The worst drought in 40 years is gripping Kenya and the wider Horn of Africa region, threatening millions with starvation -- with the U.N. warning Somalia is on the brink of a famine for the second time in just over a decade.

Some 2.5 million livestock have died in Kenya this year alone, Mr. Ruto said, causing economic losses of more than $1.5 billion.

Poorer countries successfully fought to have the issue of loss and damage officially put on the COP27 agenda -- despite reluctance over the issue from richer nations, wary of open-ended compensation for the damage caused by climate-induced natural disasters.

But observers caution that this is only a first step towards what developing nations hope will be a specific fund to help with climate impacts.