By Ebi Kesiena
As the African Climate Summit is set to wrap up on Wednesday, African leaders have maintained that the continent needs to push for a united front that highlights the continent’s potential as a green powerhouse, if the world steps up funding and eases debt.
Africa is acutely vulnerable to the growing impacts of climate change, but Kenyan President William Ruto encouraged a narrative shift at the conference, focusing on accelerating the region’s clean energy transition.
A final declaration from the Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi is expected to call on the international community to help achieve that goal by easing the continent’s crushing debt burden and reforming the global financial system to unblock investment.
Also, African leaders will also demand that rich carbon polluters honor long-standing climate pledges for poorer nations as analysts say African unity could generate momentum for cleaner green continent.
Speaking at the Nairobi summit, Ruto said African leaders were envisioning a “future where Africa finally steps into the stage as an economic and industrial power, an effective and positive actor on a global arena.”
Ruto added that Africa is well placed to take advantage of the need to move away from carbon-spewing fossil fuels, boasting a young population, vast renewable potential and natural resources.
This includes around 40% of global reserves of cobalt, manganese and platinum crucial for batteries and hydrogen fuel cells.
However, efforts at the summit moved to up investment in renewables was given a boost, with the UAE pledging $4.5 billion to accelerate Africa’s switch to clean energy.
