The continent’s first Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi is being welcomed as a significant chance to promote the connections between clean energy and growth.
Alongside African Heads of State, presidents and Heads of State from other countries are expected to attend.
The central focus of the Nairobi Africa Climate Summit beginning tomorrow (Monday) will be the opportunities for sustainable development and green growth.
The organizers hope that their planned declarations would serve as market cues for investments in Africa’s abundant clean energy, essential minerals, agricultural and natural resource.
Many African climate specialists are hopeful that the continent would truly adopt a strong position that reflects its united desire to address climate concerns at the international level.
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The founder and director of the Africa Policy Research Institute (APRI) in Berlin, Dr. Olumide Abimbola, expressed hope that the continent would seriously consider the abundance of green energy opportunities on the continent during the African Climate Summit.
“Africa has much of the minerals that the world requires to power the green transition. What we are seeing is that African governments are looking for ways to make sure that these minerals are not just exported out of the continent, but that value addition happens on the continent, that the minerals power national and regional industrialization processes.
“But beyond that, I am hoping to see deeper discussions regarding concrete plans for how to make this happen—and the roles that external actors can play here,” he said.
For Mohamed Adow, Director of energy and climate think-tank, Power Shift Africa, the future of the world will be determined by how Africa develops over the next 20 years.
He emphasized that although Africa had not directly caused the crisis, it will ultimately determine whether mankind was able to find a solution.
“We have an abundance of clean, renewable energy and it’s vital that we use this to power our future prosperity. But to unlock it, Africa needs funding from countries that have got rich off our suffering. They owe a climate debt. But climate change in Africa is more than just solar panels. Africa cannot afford to further delay the vital conversation about adaptation when our communities are already suffering the ravages of a climate crisis we did not cause,” he stated.
The Africa Climate Summit, in his opinion, will provide the finest opportunity to discuss how to expand investments that will support communities affected by climate change in making significant changes. The strategies to ensure that communities may live honestly and prosper should be the main topic of this conversation.
Experts said that at the Nairobi Climate Summit, the continent has a crucial chance to set the tone and direct the agenda for a sustainable future for Africa.
“Discussions on adaptation finance must be prioritised. Africa is home to most people grappling with the weight of climate change, especially smallholder farmers. It is, therefore, time to bridge the gap between the urgency of the needs and the disparity in climate financing. Discussions at the summit must also focus on the urgency to reform food systems. This summit must mark the beginning of a unified drive towards sustainable solutions that safeguard both our environment and our livelihoods,” the Global Policy Lead for Food Security and Agriculture at Global Citizen, Mwandwe Chileshe, said.
In Africa, investments in renewable energy are behind. We must fully utilize Africa’s potential for renewable energy to empower communities, secure electricity access, and foster a sustainable and prosperous society in addition to benefiting the environment.
Mr Bruce Douglas, CEO of the Global Renewable Alliance, stressed that “In a world grappling with the consequences of climate change, the Africa Climate Summit serves as a rallying point for collective action and a reminder of our shared responsibility to safeguard the planet for current and future generations. The renewable energy industry is committed to scaling up the total global capacity to at least 11,000 GW by 2030.”
