Kenya Hosts African Climate Summit

The inaugural African Climate Summit is being held in Nairobi, Kenya, with the goal of showcasing Africa as a potential hub for renewable energy. Africa is intended to become the hub of the global green energy revolution, but in order to do this, it requires money infusions and assistance with its debt burden.

African leaders have aimed to demonstrate that their continent is an important actor in resolving the global climate catastrophe rather than a victim. With 1.2 billion inhabitants scattered across 54 countries, Africa is renowned for its political and economic diversity.

Its leaders have focused on a number of climate issues, ranging from debt relief and low-carbon development to a redesign of the world’s financial system. The goal is to create momentum for a number of significant international gatherings that will take place before COP28, such as the G20 talks in India, the UN General Assembly, and the annual meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in Marrakesh.

Numerous African heads of state, including Ursula von der Leyen, Antonio Guterres, and other leaders, are anticipated at the Nairobi gathering. The final declaration’s text highlights Africa’s enormous potential for renewable energy, its youthful workforce, and its natural resources, which account for 40% of the world’s cobalt, manganese, and platinum reserves, which are essential for batteries and hydrogen fuel cells.

A tentative pledge to increase the continent’s renewable energy capacity from 20 percent in 2019 to 60 percent in 2030 is included in the draft declaration. Kenya has taken the lead with a commitment to have 100% of its electricity come from renewable sources by 2030. A military coup in Gabon and an eight-fold increase in investment are among the tough obstacles Africa must overcome to meet the Paris Agreement’s aim of keeping global warming below two degrees Celsius since pre-industrial times.