Commonwealth ‘equality’? It means little to those hit hardest by climate change

As a proud Kenyan, I look forward to watching our athletes competing in the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham over the coming two weeks..

Originally titled the British Empire Games, they have not been without controversy. Despite Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss trying to outdo each other to become the next Margaret Thatcher in the current Conservative Party leadership contest, it’s worth remembering that in 1986 the Games were almost entirely a whites-only event, as a majority of nations boycotted them due to the Thatcher government’s support for apartheid South Africa.

The official website of the Games boasts that “we embrace the Commonwealth values of humanity, equality and destiny”. Like notorious regimes which try to “sportswash” themselves into respectability by hosting or sponsoring global sporting events, the Commonwealth Games cannot easily paper over the cracks.

As the son of a pastoralist farmer and advocate for action on climate change, this gushing celebration of Britain’s former empire is hard to stomach. Rather than “equality”, when it comes to the biggest threat facing the Commonwealth and the rest of the world – the climate crisis – it is the inequality which is most evident.