Heads of state, and government and industry leaders, are among thousands of attendees at the summit where Africa is promoting its potential as a clean energy powerhouse and asset in addressing the climate emergency.
The Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi comes ahead of the COP28 summit later this year in the oil-rich United Arab Emirates, which is expected to feature competing agendas for the world’s energy future.
The three-day event in Nairobi, which began Monday, is billed as bringing together African leaders to define a shared vision for green development on the diverse continent of 1.4 billion.
Kenyan President William Ruto is hosting counterparts from countries including Mozambique, Tanzania and Ghana, and United Nations head Antonio Guterres, US climate envoy John Kerry, and COP28 president Sultan Al Jaber are in attendance.
On Tuesday, the summit will offer proposals to reform global financial structures that have resulted in only a tiny fraction of investments in climate solutions being directed toward Africa.
Countries in Africa are hamstrung by mounting debt costs and a dearth of finance, and despite an abundance of natural resources just three percent of energy investments worldwide are made in the continent.
