NAIROBI, Kenya, May 15 – African lawmakers have been urged to dismantle legislative and regulatory barriers blocking climate financing and fast-track methane reduction policies, as parliaments across the continent push to position themselves at the center of the global climate response.The call emerged strongly during the opening of the Regional Parliamentary Seminar on Methane Emissions and Climate Action in Nairobi, where legislators, climate experts and development partners warned that Africa risks falling further behind in accessing climate funds despite bearing the brunt of climate change.Speaking during the forum, Jitu Soni, Director East and Southern Africa, Climate Parliament said Africa continued to receive only a fraction of global climate financing because of legal and policy bottlenecks within national systems.“There’s big talk of big money and a lot of help, but if we do not work to remove the legislative barriers and the regulatory barriers, that finance will not flow towards us,” Soni said.He challenged parliamentarians attending the seminar to move beyond dialogue and return to their countries with concrete legislative reforms capable of unlocking climate investment and accelerating methane reduction efforts.“We do not need rocket science to tackle this,” he said. “We can work together, learn from scientists and professionals, and put it into simple ways of reducing methane emissions to make Africa a better place.”The two-day seminar, themed “African Parliaments for Climate Action: Reducing Methane, Promoting Development,” has brought together delegates from 21 African countries alongside organizations including Inter-Parliamentary Union, United Nations Environment Programme, Climate Parliament and Climate and Clean Air Coalition.In a video address, Martin Chungong, Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Secretary General, said African parliaments were increasingly emerging as drivers of climate action rather than passive participants in global discussions.“Africa is not simply participating in the global climate discussion,” Chungong said.“African parliaments are helping to shape solutions that are grounded in national realities and development needs.”He cited countries such as Ghana, Zambia and Nigeria as already integrating methane reduction into parliamentary committee work, oversight functions and legislative processes.Chungong said methane action was gaining urgency globally because of its links not only to climate change, but also to food security, public health, energy access and economic development.Methane is more than 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period, although it has a shorter atmospheric lifespan, making emissions cuts one of the fastest ways to slow warming.Senate Speaker Amason Kingi who was represented by Mombasa Senator Mohamed Faki, said African economies, many of which depend heavily on agriculture and livestock, must urgently invest in climate-smart systems capable of reducing emissions while protecting livelihoods.According to figures presented during the seminar, between 55 and 65 percent of Kenya’s methane emissions originate from livestock through enteric fermentation, while waste contributes between 15 and 25 percent.Kingi said methane reduction should no longer be viewed solely as an environmental issue but as a governance, economic and public health concern requiring direct parliamentary intervention.“For African countries, methane emissions should be a matter of particular concern because many of our economies are heavily dependent on agriculture and livestock production,” Kingi said.“Across the continent, millions of households rely on livestock for food, income, transport, trade and cultural identity.”He called on the continent to be “boldly proactive” in methane emissions reduction.The forum also heard that methane reduction efforts could generate significant economic opportunities through biogas production, clean cooking technologies, landfill gas capture and improved waste management systems.Charity Kathambi, the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Conservation and Climate Change Caucus,warned that Africa continued to suffer disproportionately from a crisis it contributed least to creating, citing floods, prolonged droughts and declining agricultural productivity across the continent.“We produce less destruction, but we suffer most,” Kathambi said. “But we cannot sit and wait and cry. We must take action.”She pointed to Kenya’s Climate Change Act of 2016, plastic bag ban and ongoing climate policy reforms as examples of legislative interventions that other African countries could adapt. Kathambi, however, said stronger climate financing mechanisms, technology transfer and accountability frameworks were still needed if African states were to meet the Global Methane Pledge target of reducing methane emissions by at least 30 percent by 2030.“The world is watching as we sit in this room. Future generations are counting on us, and the window for action is still open, but it is still narrowing down,” she said. “Let us leave this seminar today with clarity and also solutions. And let us also make clear, clarity on legislative roadmaps, roadmaps.”Kenya’s Clerk of the Senate Jeremiah Nyegenye said the Nairobi meeting underscored the growing role of African legislatures in shaping climate governance and fostering regional cooperation.The seminar continues through Friday with discussions focusing on methane emissions from agriculture, waste systems and energy production, as lawmakers seek practical policy interventions that align climate action with development priorities.