NAIROBI: Kenyan President William Ruto said that a landmark African climate summit ended on Wednesday after participants adopted a declaration underscoring the continent’s potential as a green powerhouse.
Ruto said that the leaders marched on with the Nairobi declaration, bringing the 3-day conference to a close.
He had pushed for a narrative shift in the discussions, focusing on Africa’s switch to clean energy even as the continent suffers from climate-related disasters, AFP reported.
The summit declaration said that it would serve as a basis for Africa’s common position in the process of global climate change.
Experts say a united African voice could generate momentum for a series of important gatherings leading to a crunch United Nations climate summit starting in November, including the G20 gathering in New Delhi this weekend.
The declaration urges for a new financing architecture that is responsive to Africa’s requirements, including debt restructuring and relief, as frustration increases over the high cost of financing on the continent.
Rich Nations Urged to Honour Climate Commitments
It also calls on rich carbon polluters to honour long-standing climate commitments to poorer countries and urges world leaders to support a proposed carbon tax on fossil fuel trade, aviation, and maritime transport.
The 54-country continent is acutely vulnerable to the increasing impacts of climate change, but the gathering largely focused on calls to unlock investment in clean energy.
Ruto said that a new Africa is there, and it means business.
The summit witnessed funding pledges worth 23 billion dollars for green growth, adaptation, and mitigation efforts across the continent, he said.
Competing visions of the energy future of the world are likely to play out at the COP28 negotiations in United Arab Emirates (UAE), where the world will take stock of the as-yet-inadequate efforts to slash Earth-heating emissions.
