Water. I need water. Not food,” 35-year-old Limpa Lanakai said in her native Samburu language. “If I have no water, food means nothing to me.”

The mother of four, a resident of Mokori in Isiolo County in Kenya’s Rift Valley, and four other women are on their way to Ewaso Nyiro River, some 20 kilometres away, in search of water. Each of them is carrying a 20-litre jerrycan.

“Water is hard to come by these days, which forces us to walk long distances in search of it. And look, we have children,” said Lanakai, pointing to the baby strapped on her back.

The story of Mokori mirrors that of most African dry lands, where drought and floods are becoming increasingly common due to climate change. Droughts and floods are among the impacts of rising temperatures, which in turn threaten crops and livestock directly.

In particular, scientists warn that the world is warming too fast, heading towards a 4 degrees Celsius rise. This is happening primarily due to the greenhouse gases released when people burn fossil fuels.

In December, countries converge in Paris for the 21st Conference of Parties, to agree on a climate deal that will prevent average global temperatures rising above 2 degrees Celsius, and to outline the opportunities that arise from a global transformation to clean and sustainable development.

“There is still a chance of staying within the internationally agreed ceiling of below 2 degrees of global temperature rise, but the window of opportunity is fast closing,” United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said at the global climate change meeting in Peru last year.

As countries prepare for the Paris meeting, they are drafting climate action plans — Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) — that outline how they will cut carbon emissions by 30 per cent by 2030. The action plans will form the basis for negotiations in Paris.

According to Richard Munang, the co-ordinator for climate change programmes in Africa at the UN Environment Programme, the cost implications are huge.

“The continent needs some $50 billion annually if global temperatures reach two degrees and $100 billion if it reaches 4 degrees, and that is just for adaptation,” said Dr Munang.

So far, more than 50 countries have submitted their action plans to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Among them is Kenya which submitted its plan last month. Ethiopia is the only other country from Eastern Africa that has submitted its climate action plan.

Kenya’s document includes expansion of renewable energy, reducing reliance on wood fuels, and achieving 10 per cent tree cover across the country.

Dr Munang said countries should focus on renewable energy because it has the potential to provide all of the continent’s power needs.

“Africa has a hydropower potential of 1,554 Terawatts, and it needs just half of that to light it,” said Dr Munang. “There is a huge amount of geothermal and wind power. Tapping into these resources is a mitigation action.”

Kenya’s carbon emissions are relatively low, most of them coming from the use of wood fuel and fossil fuel in energy production. But while the country has invested heavily in renewable energy, mostly in geothermal power, it is also looking to set up a coal power plant which is a key contributor to climate change.

“But if you tell the Kenyan government and other African governments to stop exploring the massive oil and other natural resources we have, they are going to tell you to go away because we also need to reach the level of development of the First World,” said Mithika Mwenda, secretary general of the Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance.

Charles Mutai, co-ordinator, Climate Change Secretariat in Kenya’s Ministry of Environment said there is a need to place more emphasis on adaptation than mitigation.

“We spend 96 per cent of our climate funding on mitigation and only 4 per cent on adaptation,” said Dr Mutai. “Adaptation requires just as much attention.”

While Kenya is pegging its INDC on the Climate Change Bill and the National Climate Change Action Plan, Ethiopia’s document is based on the Climate-Resilient Green Economy Strategy that the government developed in 2011.

Ethiopia intends to cut its emissions by 64 per cent by 2030, limiting its greenhouse gas emissions to just 145 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.

Rwanda has the Green Growth and Climate Resilience National Strategy for Climate Change and Low Carbon Development, which was launched in October 2011.

The strategy is expected to lead Rwanda to a sustainable pathway and prepare it for climate shocks. It also positions Rwanda to access international funding to achieve climate resilience and low carbon development. It forms the basis for Rwanda’s INDC.

“We intend to submit our action plan to the UNFCCC before November,” said Clarisse Kawera, public relations officer at Rwanda Environment Management Authority.

In Tanzania, Freddy Manyika, from the Office of the Vice President, Division of Environment, said the country’s document is still under preparation but will be ready for the negotiations.

Uganda, on the other hand, is still holding consultations on its INDC, but Bob Natifu, the spokesperson of the Climate Change Unit in the Ministry of Water and Environment said it will be ready by September 30.

“These consultations have taken longer than we expected. And even after we have gathered the views, they have to go before the Permanent Secretaries and then Cabinet,” said Mr Natifu.

“We also have to get a certificate of financial implication on reduction of carbon emissions from the Ministry of Finance.”

Additional information by Jean Pierre and Julius Barigaba.