Environment, Climate Change and Forestry Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya has said Africa will showcase her rich green growth potential including renewable energy resources, and pitch for increased investments at the inaugural Africa Climate Summit set for September 4th to 6th in Nairobi.
“The Africa Climate Summit will take a resource display and a capital invite approach. This is the approach we want to take in our September summit, so that we can exploit Africa’s resources. The whole world will be invited to bring their capital to Africa to foster climate positive green growth,” CS Tuya said.
“It is going to be about resources and capital. Africa will showcase its resources to the world, and invite the world to bring its capital to Africa if indeed we’re keen on tackling the climate challenge,” she added.
CS Tuya spoke on Friday at a meeting of youth leaders convened by the Dutch Ambassador to Kenya Maarten Bouwer at his Nairobi residence to discuss young people’s participation in the Africa Climate Summit. The representatives were drawn from various climate action youth organisations.
The Cabinet Secretary called on the youth to unite and take a leading role at the African Climate Summit saying effective climate action was a whole-of-society undertaking.
“We are not leaving anybody behind, not the least our young people. I am extremely excited today that we have our young people on the table way before the summit,” CS Tuya said, adding that the youth were “bearers of climate action dreams for current and future generations”.
She said the success of the Africa Climate Summit will depend on the participation of Africa’s climate action partners, and invited all stakeholder groups to take a keen interest in the three-day conference that will be held concurrently with this year’s annual Africa Climate Week.
“Africa Climate Summit is going to be delivered through partnerships. Kenya cannot deliver the summit on its own. We want to collectively come up with complimentary solutions to the climate crisis.
“We must put our heads together because the nature of climate crisis is such that it has no boundaries, it affects all of us. If we continue with the status quo, we’re all going to suffer.
“It beholds on all of us to come together, think together as a globe, not just Africa. To come up with bankable solutions to the climate crisis,” CS Tuya said.
“As we bring the African voice together, we want our voice to resonate with that of the North so that we bridge the gap, and stop the finger pointing. We have to come up with a common position on how to tackle the climate crisis,” she added.
On the outcomes of the first of its kind conference, CS Tuya said co-hosts Kenya and the African Union anticipate a declaration that will among other aspects consolidate the continent’s green growth priorities including new climate financing mechanisms.
In his opening remarks, Amb Bouwer said Kenya was a global leader in climate action, and urged Kenyan youth to take a frontline role in climate action saying young people are “a powerful source of change”.
“Kenya has been an exemplary leader in climate action regionally and globally. Take for example in the power sector where 90 percent of all power is coming from renewable energy sources. There are not many countries that can say that,” Amb Bouwer said.
Also present at the meeting were German Ambassador to Kenya Sebastian Groth and his European Union counterpart Henriette Geiger as well as representatives of American and Swedish embassies.
