NAIROBI, October 27 (Reuters) – Climate change will force tens of millions of East Africans to abandon their homes over the next three decades, even as programs to reduce its impact on the region are put in place, the World Bank said on Wednesday.

Those affected will include drought-stricken farmers looking for new arable land or different jobs in urban areas, and others driven out by the need to find clean water, the Bank said in a published report. four days before the start of the UN climate summit COP26 in Glasgow.

The five nations of East Africa – Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Burundi – have seen more and more extreme weather events in recent years.

In addition to worsening drought in a region heavily dependent on agriculture, there was significant flooding in 2020, while a locust infestation of historic proportions that began in 2019 continues to wreak havoc.

“Without broad and urgent action … up to 38.5 million people could be internally displaced due to climate change by 2050,” said Hafez Ghanem, vice president of the Bank. global for the region.

Concrete measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and finance adaptation and climate change programs could reduce the expected number of trips, but only by 30%, according to the bank’s report.

The bank has pledged to guarantee that 35% of its funding over the next five years will go to projects that will help address the threat of climate change, Ghanem said.

Kenya has shown leadership in the region by establishing a policy framework to manage climate risk, “although climate action is still underfunded,” said Keith Hansen, World Bank Country Director for Kenya .

Rich countries pledged in 2009 to provide $ 100 billion a year for five years from 2020 to the poorest countries to help them fight the impact of global warming. But this funding program should be delayed by three years, admitted Monday the president of the COP26, Alok Sharma.

(Reporting by Duncan Miriri; editing by George Obulutsa and John Stonestreet)

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