Hon. Alice Wahome leading The Institution of Engineers of Kenya Council Members to launch the 29th IEK International Convention report
The Institution of Engineers of Kenya (IEK) launched the 29th IEK International Convention revolving around the discussion of a sustainable engineering profession in the era of rapid climate change amid the COP27 concluded conference in Egypt.
The convention which shall be attended by international and local engineers and engineering students among other professionals kicks off on 21st to 25th of November 2022 in Diani, Kwale County.
The goal of the convention is to come up with resolutions that can be implemented in the context of engineering practice, policy, education, or research to mitigate the negative impact of climate change locally and globally.
Speaking in Nairobi Monday during the convention launch, Cabinet Secretary for Water, Sanitation and Irrigation, Alice Wahome said Engineers play an integral role in shaping our interaction with the world.
The newly appointed CS said climate change remains a global risk to future generations adding the theme of this year’s convention ‘sustainable engineering in the era of climate change,’ is timely coming at the time the world has converged in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt for Africa COP27 United Nations Climate Change Summit.
She however said the delegates at COP27 are expected to come to take action towards achieving the world’s collective climate goals as agreed under the Paris Agreement and Convention. “The decisions we make on a day-to-day basis through our work can have a range of environmental, social, and economic impacts. This is why these conversations are important,” said Alice Wahome, during the launch.
She noted that climate change is currently one of the greatest threats to the world’s development agenda adding that activities such as burning fossil fuels and deforestation have caused huge amounts of greenhouse gases to be released into the atmosphere.
The CS noted that this year’s convention will bring together over 3000 engineering practitioners to chart a way forward to engineering sustainability, and urged all engineers to take advantage of the opportunity and attend physically.
Wahome assured that her docket will continue to work together with key sector players to ensure it collectively puts measures that will mitigate sustainability challenges. “to ensure that we collectively put in place measures that will help mitigate this issue of sustainability in the long term.”
The sub-themes that will be delved into at the week-long Convention include; Building resilient designs Harnessing emerging technologies for sustainable development; Innovation; Mitigation measures against climate change; Climate adaption; Climate change Impact & Engineering; Artificial intelligence; Energy transition; Role of Nuclear and Renewable Energy in Combating climate change; as well as the role of Green Financing and Green Economy.
In his remarks, IEK President Eng. Erick Ohaga said another 4,000 key delegates are expected to attend the convention virtually. “Our target is to have over 3000 voices in the practice to participate either physically or virtually and collectively come up with resolutions that we can all apply in our everyday engineering practice to safeguard future generations,” observed Eng. Ohaga.
He said sustainable engineering is all about designing and operating daily systems in such a way that the energy and resources that they use are sustainable that is, they are used at a rate that doesn’t compromise the natural environment and its ability to be used by future generations to meet their own needs.
Eng. Ohaga explained: “Sustainable engineering impacts every single aspect of our daily lives, from the water that runs through our taps to the process of removing and breaking down the rubbish thrown in the dust bin.”
He highlighted that there are many opportunities for engineers to contribute to climate change solutions in fields such as sustainability, climate resilience, climate risk, climate finance, climate justice, climate hazards, and climate change laws.
IEK and its members will continue to uphold standards and adapt to mitigative measures to evade the adverse effects of climate change for generational sustainability.
