 in downtown Nairobi. Some areas of the city's public spaces will be closed for the event.){kind=link}
The summit, established by the African Union and the Kenyan Government, will be held at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in downtown Nairobi. Some areas of the city’s public spaces will be closed for the event.
The capital of Kenya, Nairobi has increased its level of preparation to receive about 20 heads of state and about 30,000 visitors. The summit will be attended by most African heads of state, as well as many international organizations. John Kerry, the US President’s special envoy for the climate, will also be present.
According to a local Kenyan newspaper, the Kenyan government is concerned about the safety of visiting leaders and delegates and has deployed approximately 4,000 security personnel from the Kenya Defense Forces (KDF), the Public Service Unit (GSU), general police officers and the National Youth Service (NYS) to protect foreigners.
Highlighting climate impacts and possible solutions, showing creative methods to preserve and protect wildlife as invaluable natural capital in the fight against climate change, providing local climate change financing directly to local communities to enable them to implement their own climate change adaptation plans and exploring climate change adaptation and resilience strategies and solutions are the main expectations of the Kenya summit to lead African nations.
The summit, which the African Union will co-host from 4 to 6 September 2023, provides a platform for diverse African perspectives on climate solutions. The summit is expected to produce important results and commitments that will be advanced at the COP28 Conference.
The African Climate Summit, organized in Kenya, seeks to focus attention on the financing of floods and famines and emphasize Africa’s capacity to provide climate solutions with carbon banks. African countries are calling for increased climate finance to adapt to climate change and achieve development goals.
Investing in climate-related disaster preparedness
Despite its small contribution to climate change, Africa is said to be the most vulnerable region in the world. The effects of climate change are becoming increasingly evident on the African continent, harming the most vulnerable populations and causing food insecurity, evictions and loss of income.
Four African nations were among the ten most affected in 2015, and seven of the ten nations most at risk from climate change are in Africa. According to the African Development Bank, the cost of the increasingly frequent climate-related disasters in Africa ranges between 7,000 million dollars annually.
By 2030, African nations must raise $124 billion annually for adaptation measures, but as things stand, only $28 billion is allocated to the continent each year
Increasing the use of renewable energy
By 2030, sub-Saharan Africa (SAS) will generate more than 80% of its new electricity from renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, hydropower and geothermal. Applications of renewable energy technologies have the potential to solve many of the problems Africans face on a daily basis, particularly if done in a sustainable way that prioritizes human rights. Many social, economic, health and environmental problems in Africa can be addressed with an energy system based on renewable energies.
Wind, solar, hydroelectric and geothermal energy resources in Africa have enormous potential and the price of renewable energy sources is decreasing.
Many African nations can move away from conventional fuels and infrastructure and build sustainable energy systems thanks to the transition to clean energy, but they will need support from the international community, especially to attract the necessary investment. Between 2026 and 2030, $133 billion a year will be needed for Africa to reach its energy targets. Only 2% of all investments in renewable energy made worldwide in the last 20 years, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
A just transition needs green minerals
The pursuit of zero emissions targets by the world has increased the demand for vital minerals such as copper, lithium and cobalt, which are necessary for the creation of renewable and low-carbon technologies such as solar energy, electric vehicles, battery storage, green hydrogen and geothermal. energy.
30% of the world’s mineral reserves are located in Africa. This presents numerous African nations with the opportunity to establish themselves as important participants in the global value chain of essential minerals.
It is believed that an incentive to increase the value of these minerals on the continent is greater economic integration through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), regional and inter-nation economic blocs. This will help the global energy transition, which will encourage green growth.
Restructuring of climate finance
To help the region’s efforts to adapt to and mitigate climate change, the African continent must restructure its climate finance. This can be achieved by improving national frameworks and capacities in sub-Saharan and Saharan African countries to obtain more financing for climate change adaptation and mitigation.
It can also be achieved by restructuring and modernizing the global financial system to better support climate finance in Africa, addressing and overcoming the difficulties of mobilizing private finance for climate action in Africa, such as high debt burdens and low private sector contributions to climate finance. But compared to the funding needed for the continent to meet its Nationally Determined Contributions, it is estimated that there is a considerable shortfall in climate finance flowing into Africa.
Source: Atalayar