But to use it, Africa needs money from countries that have gotten rich by exploiting us.” External delegates attending the summit include the US administration’s climate envoy John Kerry and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Guterres has said he will raise the issue of financing as one of the glaring injustices of the climate crisis.
The first Africa Climate Summit opened on Monday in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. Meanwhile, leaders from the continent with the least stake in climate change, but most affected by it, called for intervention and financial help to deal with the global problem. Kenya’s President William Ruto’s government and the African Union have opened a ministerial session, bringing together heads of state from more than a dozen countries, vowing to raise calls for more cooperation and funding on climate change. “We have long seen this as a problem,” Ruto said, referring to the climate crisis, the billion-dollar economic potential, the new financial infrastructure, Africa’s vast mineral reserves and the principle of shared prosperity. But, there is also immense potential in this.
We are not gathering here to list grievances.” “Now is our time,” Mithika Mwenda of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance told leaders attending the session, as Africa’s annual climate aid to reduce carbon emissions is about US$16 billion, which is less than its actual budget. That’s a tenth of what is needed or less, and only a tiny “fraction” of the budgets of major polluting companies. Simon Still, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, said, “Rich countries have committed to providing US$100 billion a year in climate finance to developing countries. We need this amount to be made available immediately as promised.” More than US$83 billion was given to poor countries in climate finance in 2020, a four percent increase from a year earlier, but still less than the amount set out in 2009.
Ahead of the conference, Mohamed Addo of “Power Shift Africa” said, “We have an abundance of clean, renewable energy available and it is vital that we harness it for our future prosperity. But to use it, Africa needs money from countries that have gotten rich by exploiting us.” External delegates attending the summit include the US administration’s climate envoy John Kerry and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Guterres has said he will raise the issue of financing as one of the glaring injustices of the climate crisis.
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