Kenya to host Africa Climate Summit scheduled for September
The Committee of African Heads of State and government on Climate Change (CAHOSCC) coordinated by President William Ruto has adopted that Kenya will host the Africa Climate Summit to be held in Nairobi from September 4-6 this year.
Dr Ruto explained that this is in keeping with the pledge to advance opportunities in green industrialisation, as well as the Green Agenda for Africa.
“I am convening a Climate Action Summit in Nairobi, to take place from September 4-6, 2023. There is consensus in this meeting that Africa is the continent of the future. It is time to escalate this consensus and propel Africa to join the leadership of the global climate action. This is the momentous mandate that we, as CAHOSCC, must now provide," Dr Ruto said.
This comes even after President Ruto who is attending the African Union Summit 2023 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia said that an overhaul of the financial system is imperative to connect climate action and development finance.
According to the President , the present set-up of the global economic and financial system is inequitable and inadequate in the face of the challenges confronting the continent.
“We are adding our strong voice to the now urgent calls for the reform of international financial institutions and multilateral development banks, these reforms must proceed all the way to the radical overhaul of international financial infrastructure and institutional architectures to make sure that funds are accessible, affordable, mobilise relevant technology, are adequate and most importantly, timely, " he said.
“Yet as dire as it gets, this situation is further exacerbated by geopolitical upheaval whose disruptive effect have impaired global logistics, driven up energy prices, pushing the cost of basic commodities beyond the reach of millions of severely impoverished people, and further diminishing the resilience of many economies that are still contending with post-pandemic recovery, " Dr Ruto said.
"In order to radically change the course of events and switch our course back from a headlong rush to the precipice, we must commit as leaders, that CAHOSCC deliberations about our continent are action-oriented,” the head of state believes.
“ As we ponder our continent’s present condition, which is positively dire, let us also consider developments beyond. The world is entering a new industrial age of clean energy technology and clean, green manufacturing," he said.
He said Africa’s contradictions and paradoxes must be reconciled in order to chart a path that will take us out of our present challenges.
“Energy poverty persists in our continent, where 600 million people have no access to electricity, while 970 million live without clean cooking fuels and technologies.
llidigu@ke.nationmedia.com
cover: President William Ruto in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for the 36th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union.
