Africa: Climate change – a hot topic this week

September 6 marked the end of the African Climate Summit in Kenya, heralding the start of a crucial journey to address the adverse impacts of climate change. Kenyan President William Ruto has positioned himself as Africa’s leading voice in the fight against global warming. According to Mr Ruto, the continent is losing 5% to 15% of its GDP growth per annum due to climate change.

What you will learn:

The first-ever Africa Climate Summit commenced on September 4, bringing together leaders, diplomats, and experts from across the continent for a three-day event in Nairobi. The event was dominated by discussions on how to mobilise financing to help Africa adapt to increasingly extreme weather conditions, conserve natural resources, and develop renewable energy. African leaders introduced new reform ideas and the concept of global taxes in a declaration that will guide their negotiating position at the COP28 summit in November. A notable topic at COP28 will be the “loss and damage fund”, which was established at COP27 in Egypt last year.

While many agree that Africa has an abundance of clean and renewable energy, harnessing this valuable resource and implementing measures to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change will require substantial funding. Africa grapples with some of the most severe repercussions of climate change but only receives a trickle of climate-related funding each year.