COP26: The unreported stories and puzzle of 300-plus Kenya delegates

The average Sunday Nation weighs about 55 grammes (0.055 kilogrammes) and contains 52 pages. The edition of October 31 — the day COP26 opened in Glasgow — contains 100 pages and weighs about 110g (0.11kg). 

No big deal if you consider the massive sizes of Sunday newspapers around the world. The Sunday edition of the New York Times, for example, weighs about 2.5kg. One of its heaviest editions, in September 1987, weighed 5.4kg and contained 1,612 pages.

The reason for the extra-big Sunday Nation is that it contains a 36-page pullout to mark the start of the critical climate conference in Scotland. The cover of “Climate Action, a Special ‘Sunday Nation’ Project” carries the titillating title, “That sinking feeling”. That is also the name of a comedy film set in the city of Glasgow whose plot hinges on four bored, unemployed teenagers who, to boost their morale, come up with the idea of stealing stainless steel sinks from a warehouse to sell.

The pullout is 36 pages of “expert analysis, commentaries and news report”. It describes COP26 as “our last chance to save mankind from a looming climatic apocalypse”.

Excessive reporting

However, a reader, Githuku Mungai, wrote to say that although he is for climate change talks “any time”, the pullout was “excessive reporting”. I think he was put off by the long articles in the pullout by Kenyan government officials which are full of jargon and technical writing and are as dry as dust.

The pullout, however, has several useful and highly readable articles. For example. “Kenya’s glossary of terms at COP26” by Pallavi Singh, of the British High Commission in Nairobi, explains many of the words of art used in the climate change debate. This is much welcome as climate change talk is full of jargon — such as adaptation fund, mitigation, biofuel, greenhouse effect, carbon footprint, fossil fuels , renewable energy, greenhouse gases and global warming. 

The article by the United Kingdom High Commissioner in Kenya, Jane Marriott, “The time to act to save the plant is now”, shows the way to report climate change is to show how it affects local people. Her article is highly readable, relevant and informative. So is “Africa has to be part of the conversation on climate change funds”, the Question-and-Answer article in which Wanjohi Kabukuru interviews Jean-Paul Adam of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (Uneca).

However, the Nation’s coverage of the 13-day conference, which ends today, has been scanty. Let’s take a tally of what the Nation has reported following the Sunday Nation bumper issue. By yesterday, it has published only 10 stories — over 11 days. Three days in a row — November 7, 8, and 9 — had no related stories. The newspaper has, however, published 12 opinion pieces over the period; so, it has run more opinion than information.

Inadequate coverage

This is poor showing. Every day of the negotiating conference, in which 196 signatory states and organisations are engaged in heated debate, and has over 20,000 participants, yields scores of important and interesting stories. And there are over 3,700 media people covering the negotiations. 

Due to the inadequate coverage by local media, the stories we’ve missed include the footprint of the Kenyan delegation to the conference. We don’t know what contribution has been — apart from reading the “Kenya’s Statement at the Opening Plenary”.

What we know, however — because the foreign media reported it — is that the Kenyans had problems finding accommodation and, with Malawians, “are relying on the kindness of local residents to find a place to sleep”.

The sheer numbers of Kenyan government officials at COP26 remains a mystery. Official documents show there were 310 Kenya-registered participants at the start of the conference. Compare that to host UK’s 231, United States’ 130, Nairobi-based Unep’s 58 and China’s 48. What were the Kenyans up to?

The media has failed to hold them accountable. This leaves us with that sinking feeling (pun intended).

The Public Editor is an independent news ombudsman who handles readers’ complaints on editorial matters including accuracy and journalistic standards. Email: [email protected]. Call or text 0721989264