Historic negotiations at Africa’s climate summit are set to conclude on Wednesday, as leaders seek a unified voice on the world stage to highlight the continent’s green growth potential if the world steps up its financing and debt support.
African leaders united for a green future: Nairobi summit calls for global action
At the summit that opened in Nairobi on Monday, Kenyan President William Ruto championed a speech focused on accelerating a clean energy transition in Africa, where populations are among the most vulnerable to climate change. A final declaration from participants at this first African climate summit is expected to call on the international community to help achieve this goal, by easing the continent’s crushing debt burden and reforming the global financial system to unlock investment – as well as demanding that wealthy polluters honor their climate finance pledges.
A successful outcome in Nairobi around a shared vision of Africa’s green development would give impetus to several key international meetings ahead of COP28, starting with the G20 summit in India next weekend and the UN General Assembly this month, followed in October by the annual meeting of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Marrakech. But finding a consensus across a continent of 1.2 billion people living in 54 politically and economically diverse countries is no easy task, with some governments pushing for a renewable energy future while others rely on their fossil fuel resources.
William Ruto: A positive player for Africa’s energy future
William Ruto said on Tuesday that African leaders envision a “future in which Africa finally enters the scene as an economic and industrial power, an effective and positive player on the world stage”.
The Kenyan president believes that Africa is well placed to benefit from the need to move away from polluting fossil fuels, with a young population, vast renewable potential and natural resources. On Tuesday, the United Arab Emirates, which will host the next UN climate conference (COP28) at the end of the year, pledged $4.5 billion (€4.1 billion) for clean energy investment in Africa.
But the challenges are overwhelming in a continent where 500 million people have no access to electricity. And African leaders constantly point out the considerable financial obstacles. African countries are paralyzed by their growing debt burden and lack of financing. Despite its natural resource potential, only 3% of the world’s energy investments are made on the continent.
“We must ensure that climate finance is more available, affordable and accessible to all developing countries, including those in Africa,” said William Ruto, COP28 President Sultan Al-Jaber and African Union Commission head Moussa Faki Mahamat in a joint statement on Monday.
On a global scale, rich countries have yet to meet their commitment to provide $100 billion a year in climate finance to the poorest countries by 2020.
Why are we interested?
At a time when climate change is becoming a major concern, the negotiations underway in Africa have significant implications for the future of the planet. An African consensus on energy transition and climate financing can influence important upcoming international meetings, including the G20 summit in India and the UN General Assembly this month, as well as the annual meeting of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in Marrakech in October. It could also stimulate green growth in Africa, thereby contributing to the global fight against climate change.
