SKILLS-DRIVEN EDUCATION,
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND
INNOVATION FOR CLIMATE CHANGE
ACTION
Prof. Kennedy Mutundu
Mount Kenya University – RCE Greater Nairobi
kmutundu@mku.ac.ke / +254 722 474141
12th African RCE Regional Meeting
28th -30th November 2022
Role of African RCE in Climate Change Action

Introduction
• Climate change presents the single biggest threat
to sustainable development
• This cuts across the globe and social classes
• However, its unprecedented impacts
disproportionately burden the poorest and most
vulnerable
• It, therefore, calls for climate action and sustainable
development in integrated and coherent ways
• This is achievable in different ways based on
skills-driven education, technology, and
innovation
• RCEs Uniquely positioned to respond: ESD, Local
Networks/Actions, Partnerships
The 12th African RCE Region Meeting-28th -30th November 2022: Role of African RCE in Climate Change Action

What is Climate Change?

What causes Earth’s climate to change?
Changes in the atmosphere
Natural processes
Volcanoes
Tectonic plate movement
Changes in the sun
Shifts in Earth’s orbit
Human activities – any activity that releases
“greenhouse gases” into the atmosphere

Source: Climate Analysis Indicators Tool, World Resources Institute

The Greenhouse Effect

The Challenge/Crisis of Climate Challenge –
A Two-Thronged Response
Adaptation The process of adjustment to changes in an
environment. In the context of climate change, it refers to changing
our lifestyles to cope with a new environment rather than trying to
stop climate change.
Mitigation Taking action to reduce/repair the severity or intensity of
an event. In the context of climate change it refers to reducing the
output of greenhouse gases and/or increasing the size and amount
of greenhouse gas storage sites or sinks.

Hodder & Stoughton © 2018
Resilient
agricultural
systems
High-tech: drought-tolerant species
help resistance to climate change
and disease.
Low-tech: better practices generate
healthier soils and may help
carbon-dioxide sequestration and
water storage: selective irrigation,
mulching, cover crops, crop
rotation, reduced ploughing,
agroforestry.
Land-use
planning
Soft management: land-use zoning,
building restrictions in vulnerable
floodplains and on low-lying areas.
Enforcing strict runoff controls and
soakaways.
Assessment
More expensive technology not
available to poor subsistence
farmers without financial aid.
High energy costs from indoor and
intensive farming.
Genetic modification is still subject
to debate but increasingly used to
create resistant strains, e.g. rice
and soya.
Growing food insecurity in many
places adds pressure to find ‘quick
fixes’.
Assessment
Abandoning high-risk areas and
land-use resettling often
unfeasible, e.g. megacities such
as Dhaka, Bangladesh, or Tokyo-
Yokohama, Japan.
A political ‘hot potato’.
Needs strong governance,
enforcement and compensation.
Adaptation strategies (1)

Adaptation strategies (2)
Solar
radiation
management
(SRM)
Geo-engineering involves deliberately
intervening in the climate system to
counteract global warming.
One proposal is to use orbiting satellites to
reflect some inward radiation back into
space, rather like a giant sunshade.
This could cool the Earth within months and
be relatively cheap compared with mitigation.
Assessment:
Untried and untested.
Would reduce but not eliminate
the worst effects of GHGs. For
example, it would not alter
ocean acidification.
Involves tinkering with a
complex system, which might
have unknown consequences.
Would need to continue for
decades or centuries as there
would be a rapid adjustment in
the climate system if SRM
stopped suddenly.

Mitigation strategies: world (1)
Wetland
restoration
Wetlands (salt and freshwater
marshes, floodplains,
peatlands, mangroves) cover
up to 9% of the Earth’s land
surface but contain 35% of the
terrestrial carbon store.
Trans-government initiatives
such as the International
Convention on Wetlands
(Ramsar) and the European
Union Habitats Directive
promote restoration projects
around the world.
Assessment
Large amounts of stored
carbon would remain in the
wetlands, and would increase
over time.
Maintaining wetlands
prevents the decay of carbon
stocks by aerobic respiration
– they are resistant to decay
under anaerobic conditions.

Mitigation strategies(2)
Afforestation The UN’s Reducing
Emissions from
Deforestation and Forest
Degradation (REDD+)
scheme offers incentives
to developing countries to
protect their forests.
Conservation and
sustainable management
are also crucial.
Assessment
UN-REDD+ is a set of guidelines
on how to report on forest
resources and forest
management strategies and their
results, in terms of reducing
emissions and enhancing removal
of GHGs.
How does itlink to existing
national development strategies?
How can forest communities and
indigenous peoples participate in
the design, implementation,
monitoring and evaluation of
programmes?
How will it be funded, and how
will countries ensure that benefits
are distributed equitably?
How will reduced emissions and
enhanced removals be
monitored?

Mitigation strategies: (3)
Changing
agricultural
practices
Measures to reduce carbon emissions from agriculture which
target both carbon dioxide and methane.
They include:
• Zero tillage: not ploughing but drilling seed directly into the
soil thereby conserving organic matter in the soil.
• Polyculture: growing annual crops in between trees which
helps protect soils from erosion and stores carbon in the
trees.
• Crop residues: leaving residues such as stems and leaves
on the field after harvesting helps protect soils from erosion.
• New strains of plants, e.g. rice, which require less water in
the padi fields, therefore generating less methane.
• Managing manure, e.g. using it in anaerobic digesters to
produce methane which can be used to generate power.

Mitigation strategies: world (4)
International
agreements
Under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol many developed countries agreed to
legally binding reductions in their carbon dioxide emissions although the
USA and Australia refused to sign. Emerging economies, such as China
and India, were exempt.
The aim was to bring about a 5% cut in global GHG emissions from 1990
levels by 2008–2012. Countries such as Japan and most of the EU were
expected to cut emissions by between 6 and 8%. Negotiations continued
after 1997 and although Kyoto came into effect in 2005, there was ongoing
discussion, and differing levels of compliance.
The Paris Climate Convention (COP21) (2015) ended with an agreement
to reduce global carbon dioxide emissions to below 60% of 2010 levels
and to restrict global warming to a 2°C increase by 2050.
Countries will set their own voluntary targets and there is no detailed
timetable.
It has been agreed that developed countries will transfer funds and
technologies to help developing countries to achieve their targets.

Mitigation strategies: world (5)
Cap and
trade
The Kyoto Protocol introduced the idea that a country which cut its
emissions below the level at which it had been ‘capped’ would be
able to trade the unused volume of emissions. Another country
could buy these theoretical emissions and offset them against
emissions above the agreed level. This would allow it to achieve its
target or cap.
The EU introduced a similar cap and trade system in 2005 (EUETS).
Individual businesses, especially energy intensive ones e.g. metal,
cement or refining industries, are able to receive credits if they
achieve lower-than-set emissions, which can then be sold.
The idea of this carbon market is that polluters have to pay while
clean companies are rewarded.

Carbon
taxation
(UK)
The carbon price floor tax sets a minimum price companies have to pay to emit CO2. It
was unpopular with both industry and environmental groups and had debateable effect on
emissions. In 2015, the policy was ‘frozen’.
Lower road taxes for low-carbon-emitting cars.
In 2015, oil and gas exploration tax relief was expanded to support fossil fuels, hence the
current debate about fracking.
Renewable
switching
(UK)
Switching from fossil fuels to renewables and nuclear power.
Renewables (solar, wind and wave) provide intermittent electricity, while fossil fuels and
nuclear provide the continuous power essential for our current infrastructure.
The Climate Change Levy, designed in 2001 to encourage renewable energy investment
and use, was cut in 2015.

Discussion
• What are the priorities of adaptation v mitigation?
• How equitable are the proposed solutions? Many of those vulnerable
to climate change have contributed little to GHG emissions
• Does delaying mitigation shift the burden from the present to the
future?
• Given that developed countries have passed through their industrial
phase of development without regard for the environment, is it now
their duty to assist developing countries, or will they try to dictate terms
in global agreements?
• Is this some form of climate-colonialism?
• What is the will of the world’s leaders regarding climate change?
• Does humankind possess an ability to plan on the global scale?

Responses through Skills Driven Education,
Science, Technology and Innovations
Skills Driven Education
- Curricular, capacity-building, legal and institutional frameworks,
By-in
Science and Technology
- Science and Technology oriented institutions
- Vocational Training, Industrial Parks
Innovations
- Innovation-Applied Research
- Incubation Centres
Application Towards
Climate Adaptation and Mitigation
How?

Climate Change and Education
Global Campaign for Education (2020):
“While education is needed to enhance people’s
awareness of the damaging impacts of human actions
against natural ecosystems, at the same time
ecosystem unbalance and climate change-related
emergencies are one of the critical barriers for
people to enjoy their right to education.
“Indeed, climate change-related emergencies leave
millions of learners out of school. Disasters like
landslides, wildfires, droughts, floods, cyclones
or typhoons cause famines, death, force people to
move or destroy school facilities and
universities, and communities might take years to
recover from search events”
If addressed: What is the role of education in

Why education in climate change action?
• Creating knowledge
• Understanding ecosystems
to build more resilient
societies
• Raising awareness
• Finding solutions
• Holding leaders accountable
The 12th African RCE Region Meeting-28th -30th November 2022: Role of African RCE in Climate Change Action

1. Creating knowledge
 Our knowledge of the climate crisis is based on
solid science, research, data that scientists across
the world rigorously dissect and analyse.
 They are the basis of the policy recommendations by
government non-governmental interventions
 Researchers, academics and higher education develop
the research to understand the causes, consequences
and magnitude of the climate crisis and global
warming-related emergencies.
 Scientists have unveiled both the important role
water systems or forests play in regulating the
climate, along with revealing the immediate impacts
the climate crisis is having on these fragile
ecosystems.

2. Understanding ecosystems to build
more resilient societies
Education is pivotal to our understanding of how the actions of all
individuals are negatively impacting the balance on Earth,
Constant transformative learning to truly understand the
fundamentals of natural life is needed as diversity increases
resilience.
 Local and indigenous knowledge have contributed to ecosystem
functioning, disaster early warning systems, and climate change
adaptation and resilience.
Traditional knowledge in such areas as agriculture, food production
and conservation has played an important role in environmental
sustainability for centuries.

3. Raising awareness
 Today’s children are the citizens and consumers of tomorrow. Their
behaviours and decisions will inevitably affect the environment.
 Children are also important agents of social change in society, because apart
from adopting responsible environmental behaviours themselves, they also have
the potential to bring about change by influencing the environmental knowledge,
attitudes and behaviours of peers, family and of the wider community.
 Educating youth and adults on issues related to the climate crisis, pollution
of water and land will encourage individuals and communities to change attitudes
and behaviour towards it.
 Initiatives to prevent and mitigate the impact of climate change through education
may allow children, young people and adults to get a better understanding of
the impact of global warming on their possibilities to enjoy their fundamental
human rights.

4. Finding solutions
As the climate crisis is unfolding, education, skills and
innovative ideas based on sound science are needed to find
solutions and mitigate damages.
Engineers and technologists make constant progress in
improving devices to produce cleaner energy, devise ingenious
process to clean oceans of plastic pollution and design
practical mechanisms for
Universities are at the forefront of research to develop more
recyclable materials, improve efficiency of man-made tools and
increase the reuse of precious resources.

5. Holding leaders accountable
Educated citizens and youth are more equipped
to hold their leaders accountable and to put
pressure on their governments to take decisive
actions against the climate crisis.
Climate change agenda in our civic and political
processes

What is knowledge- and skill-driven education
(SDE)?
 Knowledge-based education (KBE) entails a close
study of books, specializing in the ‘examine and
write’ system. It relies on rote learning
 Skill-based education (SBE), requires experience,
believing that real-life practice lies at the core of
better learning. ‘Learning by doing’ is the mantra,
extending beyond the confines of the blackboard to
actually learn new skills through practice.
 Learning a skill comes from applying knowledge to
particular situations with a combination of sensory
input and output. Knowledge, then, is theoretical,
while skills are practical.
 Skill-based learning aims to build upon knowledge by developing
practical expertise in a particular area.

The key issues in tackling skills
development
• Access
• Quality
• Relevance
• Equity
• Efficiency
The 12th African RCE Region Meeting-28th -30th November 2022: Role of African RCE in Climate Change Action

Skills Development
“Low skills perpetuate poverty and
inequality. When done right, skills
development can reduce un- and
underemployment, increase
productivity, and improve standards of
living. Helping people develop and
update their skills makes economic
sense”
World Bank

The Competency Based Curriculum
in Kenya

1. Bridge “Learning to Know” to “Learning to Do”
2. Schools as living labs – practicing what we preach
3. Engaging Youth as Well as Adults

Education, Skills Development and Climate Change
If only 16% of high school students in high/middle-income
countries were to receive climate change education, we could see a
nearly 19 gigaton - reduction of carbon dioxide by 2050 (Asian
Development Forum 2020)
Countries taking strong climate actions between 2018 and 2030
could, by 2030, generate over 65 million new low-carbon jobs, and
deliver at least $26 trillion in net global economic benefits (Global
Commission on the Economy and Climate)
Nearly $23 trillion in climate-smart investment opportunity exists
in emerging markets from 2016 to 2030, arising from national
climate change commitments (International Finance Corporation).
Education is key to train the professionals needed to obtain these
benefits…..HOW? In 4 key areas

1. mutually reinforcing policies for
education and climate change
 In a global survey by UNESCO in 2020, nearly two-thirds of respondents named climate change
and biodiversity loss as the number one challenge, and education as key to addressing them.
 It also reported that over half of education policies and curricula studied made no mention of
climate change in primary and secondary education.
 Education for climate change needs to be embedded in all levels of education and in formal
institutions, communities and workplaces.
 Education systems have to become more resilient to climate-related disasters to avoid
disruption during extreme weather events.
 Schools can play a critical role in increasing awareness of local communities on climate and
disaster risk issues and promote local actions to build resilience.
 It is crucial to identify education as a key climate solution in national climate change policies such as
nationally determined contributions and national adaptation plans.
 Such integration provides a strong basis for countries to mobilize climate finance to advance
climate actions in the context of education sector.

2. Build green skills in the workforce
Training and skills development are crucial for a just and
green transition and building a resilient economy
There is a need for new courses to strengthen capacities
and skills. Tertiary education and research play a key role in
building higher order human capital for resilience and
climate action
It is crucial to invest in skills to meet emission
regulations, adopt renewable and clean energy, manage
waste, and produce green and resilient products and
services.

3. Expand investments at the intersection
of sustainability and digitalization
The digital transformation currently underway is far reaching.
The market size of the global digitized construction
industry using artificial intelligence and other technologies,
is projected to increase from $10 billion in 2017 to $29 billion
by 2027.
Whether it is smart grids, smart transportation, smart
cities, digital agricultural advisory services or gig economy
work, wide-ranging digital skills are called for.

4. Strengthen inter-disciplinary climate
studies
 There is need for interdisciplinary education that is focused
on Climate Change issues. Programs offered aim to educate
future climate leaders, and generate knowledge solutions.
 Climate studies in developing countries need to jointly house
different schools such as engineering, architecture, agriculture,
arts, social sciences, management, law, public policy, and
communications to build up the diverse talent pool needed for
climate solutions.
 Problem-based and contextual approaches are required

TAKE – AWAY AND WAY FORWARD
The 12th African RCE Region Meeting-28th -
30th November 2022: Role of African RCE in
Climate Change Action
Curriculum Development and Climate Change Education
Government investment in Education, Research and
Innovation
Climate Change affects societies invariably
Partnerships: The Focus of RCEs and SDG 17
 Climate Change- North-South Divide, South-South Divide
The Strength and future of RCEs

THANK YOU
Prof. Kennedy Mutundu
kmutundu@mku.ac.ke/ +254 722 474141

SKILLS-DRIVEN EDUCATION,
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND
INNOVATION FOR CLIMATE CHANGE
ACTION
Prof. Kennedy Mutundu
Mount Kenya University – RCE Greater Nairobi
kmutundu@mku.ac.ke / +254 722 474141
12th African RCE Regional Meeting
28th -30th November 2022
Role of African RCE in Climate Change Action

INNOVATIVE Initiatives to Combat
Climate Change: CASE STUDies
• Case 1: Mount Kenya University

MKU Graduate Enterprise Academy
• Through the program, MKU equips
graduates with educational skills to
remain sensitive to climate change.
• This includes the unemployment
effect created by climate change
• Through entrepreneurship skills,
graduates can circumnavigate the
effect of climate change

MKU Partnerships and linkages for skills
DEVELOPMENT

MKU PARTICIPATION IN environmental
activities
• MKU has Environmental Club
• Practices climate change model
activities
• Including;
• Tree planting to increase forest
cover
• Cleaning and keeping the
environment clean
• Outreach programs for environmental
conservation
• Participation in COP27

MKU in Partnerships as response to climate
change
• MKU has partnerships and linkages
directorate
• It has several Private-Public partnerships
• MKU has partnered with international
universities to offer exchange programs
• MKU has partnered with several civil
societies to create knowledge on adapting
to climate change

MKU in Partnerships OFFER CLIMATE CHANGE RESPONSIVE
PROGRAMMES

MKU OUTREACH AND SUPPORT
PROGRAMMES

MKU OUTREACH AND SUPPORT
PROGRAMMES

Case study 2: Yunus centre’s 3z social
enterprise model
• Yunus Centre is a foundation of the
Nobel Prize winner, Social
entrepreneur, Prof. Mohammad
Yunus of Bangladesh
• It has an affiliate, Grameen Bank
that lends the “poor”
• It works on an innovative model
dubbed 3Zs

Case study 3: sme
adoption of emerging
technologies (ET) in
circular economy
(CE)

SAMPLE SMEs
1. Mr. Green Africa - The technology-
driven plastics collection model has
enabled the collecting of waste at the
source by integrating the informal waste
workers, consumers and the micro-
entrepreneurs into the company’s formal
value chain.
2. EcoPost - A social enterprise that
addresses the problems of waste
management mainly plastic pollution,
deforestation, vast youth unemployment,
and change in the current climate.

SAMPLE SMEs
4. SunCulture company - Deals in selling
the AgroSolar irrigation kit (ultimately
powered by solar).
The kit has combined solar water pumping
technology that is highly efficient in drip
irrigation and has everything that a farmer
requires to grow more at the same time
spending less in a sustainable and efficient
way.
5. UjuziKilimo - Incorporates desirable
skills in farming to boost the sector of
agriculture.

SAMPLE SMEs
6. Insectipro -Through the aid
of insects and the circular
production, the company
breeds Black Soldiers Flies
and changing their larvae
into the animal feed and
farming crickets for
consumption by human

CASE 4: MULLY CHILDREN’S FAMILY (MCF)
SUSTAINABLe FOOD PRODUCTION MODEL
• MCF initiatives encompass
Rescue, Rehabilitation,
Reintegration and Prevention
(3RP) to safeguard the rights,
safety, well-being, dignity and
development of children.
• Located in the Ukambani region
(perceived semi-arid)
• The philanthropist has adopted a
food-sustainable production
method integrated with
technology to adapt to the harsh
climate

CASE 5: negotiation for environmental
conservation success stories
• 1. Red kite in Britain
• The reintroduction of the red kite to
Britain is one of the greatest
conservation success stories of the
20th century. After decades of
persecution from egg collectors and
illegal poisoning, red kites were
practically extinct in the UK by the
late 1980s.
• However, in 1989, conservationists
started negotiations to stop the
destruction
• The kites have since been restored.
• 2. Bear forest in Britain
• In 2009, the government of British
Columbia announced a conservation
plan for the Great Bear Rainforest –
the most comprehensive of its kind in
North America. This victory followed
a ten-year campaign – one of the
longest in Greenpeace history.
• 3. Beavers in the UK
• More than 400 years after it was
hunted to extinction in the UK, the
beaver is back! Initially illegally
released in Tayside, Scotland a few
years ago, there are now over 400
beavers in 100 territories. Courtesy
of negotiation with communities.

Take-away cum Good
Thing

HOW WE GET THERE
The 12th African RCE Region Meeting-28th -30th November 2022: Role of African RCE in Climate Change Action
EDUCATION AND SKILLS
• Teach skills
• Train skills
• Adopt skills
INNOVATION AND
TECHNOLOGY
• Appreciate innovation
• Adapt technology
• Sensitize on technology
PARTNERSHIPS AND
NEGOTIATIONS
• Public-private
• Public-public
• Private-private

SUMMARY
The 12th African RCE Region Meeting-28th -
30th November 2022: Role of African RCE in
Climate Change Action
For adaptation to climate change, we may need to
remain focused on educating skills as we use
emerging technologies and work in partnerships.
It is the responsibility of all of us to keep the planet
sustainable.
Even if it means negotiating, but at least remain as a
team for a better tomorrow

THANK YOU
Prof. Kennedy Mutundu
kmutundu@mku.ac.ke/ +254 722 474141