By John Ikani
Panellists at this year’s Africa Climate Summit have urged the continent to keep pushing forward the progress made during last year’s gathering, where leaders had laid out a roadmap for green growth in the Nairobi Declaration.
This year’s priorities include deepening international collaboration, focusing on climate adaptation, and pushing for changes in financial structures to better support sustainable development goals.
Musalia Mudavadi, Kenya’s Prime Cabinet Secretary and Foreign Affairs head, described the task as “daunting but surmountable,” highlighting the need to address these challenges to prevent African countries from falling into unsustainable debt while addressing climate adaptation.
Despite accounting for nearly 17% of the global population, Africa is responsible for just 7% of greenhouse gas emissions. Yet, the continent is considered especially at risk from climate impacts due to its lower capacity to adapt.
In a call to action on Tuesday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged wealthy nations to increase their funding for climate adaptation, proposing a rise to 40 billion U.S. dollars per year by 2025.
African nations aim to leverage such financial support to bolster resilience against severe climate challenges, such as droughts and floods, boost afforestation efforts, safeguard biodiversity, and expand their renewable energy sectors.
