Kenya’s President William Ruto Urges Africa To Turn Climate Action Into Opportunities

By Jean Pierre Afadhali

Ahead of Cop 28, thousands of climate policymakers, activists, Civil Society groups, investors, and heads of state have gathered in Nairobi, Kenya in the inaugural Africa Climate Summit to devise ways to finance climate solutions and drive green growth in Africa and the world.

The first Africa climate summit convened by the African Union, hosted by the Kenyan government seeks to give Africa a common voice in climate talks and will adopt a declaration that contains the continent’s demands and proposals to tackle the climate crisis. The Nairobi declaration will be used later in December during the United Nations Climate Conference, Cop 28 in Dubai, United Arabic Emirates.

Africa remains the least greenhouse emitter at 4 percent but the continent is said to be the most affected by climate change impacts such as extreme weather events, poverty, desertification, and water shortage.

Speaking during the opening ceremony of the three-day summit Kenya’s president William Samoei Ruto reminded delegates Africa’s carbon footprint remains low but the human tall of climate change is disproportionately high. “The urgency to address loss and damage, and to configure appropriate financial mechanisms for resilience grows with each extreme weather event and each bout of climate-induced insecurity, added President Ruto in his speech.”

According to Kenya’s president, climate action opportunities will propel Africa into a realm of stability and prosperity and will elevate the continent to middle-income status and beyond.

Other speakers highlighted climate challenges Africa faces and suggested solutions such as the inclusion of indigenous people’s knowledge in environment protection and climate change.

“Indigenous people are the most hit by climate change, said Ann Samante who represented indigenous people from 20 countries in Africa.”

Mithika Mwenda, Executive Director at Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), stated for many years, the climate change negotiations under UNFCCC [ United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change] have remained a contestation between North and South, with deepening mistrust and widening divide between North and South.

Mwenda suggests the inaugural summit should restore hope for people affected by extreme weather events on the continent.

“The outcomes of this Summit, then, should seek to not only provide a neutral ground for conversation, and restore hope and dignity for millions of people whose livelihoods have been turned upside down due to raging climate impacts, said Mwenda in his remarks.”

Mr. Mwenda has cited shifting seasons, drying rivers, erratic rainfall, diseases, compounding food crises, and false solutions as some of the impacts of climate change on African people.

Amb. Josefa Sacko, Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment at the African Union said the primary goal of the Climate Summit is to propel collective efforts on climate change and sustainable development forward.

“Together, we aim to elevate the discourse surrounding climate change, and rally support for a finance architecture that is specifically tailored for Africa, while also bearing in mind the resilience and survival of our continent's abundant resources, as we accelerate our transition towards a climate-resilient future, added the AU diplomat.”

Other key issues that will dominate conversations in the first continent’s summit include energy transition, carbon markets and credits, loss and damage, and food security among others.

Meanwhile, Africa Climate Summit is being organized in parallel with Africa Climate Week is expected to provide a platform for policymakers, practitioners, businesses, and civil society to exchange on climate solutions, barriers to overcome, and opportunities realized in different regions, leading to the first global stocktake concluding at COP28 in UAE in December of this year.

The Africa Climate Week is organized by the United Nations Convention on Climate Change to prepare for Cop 28.

Despite ambitious goals to give Africa a common voice in global climate talks and green growth, some non-state actors have criticized the inaugural summit’s preparations saying they have been sidelined. They added in a statement that the summit agenda has been dominated by Western interests.