The inaugural Africa Climate Summit (ACS23) in Nairobi culminated in the African Union issuing the ‘Nairobi Declaration’ outlining African commitment and calls to action both internally and globally.
Over 20 heads of state and 30,000 delegates attended the event and called on the global community to act to reduce emissions as they expressed concerns that “many African countries face disproportionate burdens and risks arising from climate change-related, unpredictable weather events and patterns, including prolonged droughts, devastating floods, wild/forest fires, which cause massive humanitarian crisis with detrimental impacts on economies, health, education, peace, and security, among other risks.”
“This declaration will serve as a basis for Africa’s common position in the global climate change process. It will guide us in having difficult conversations, taking hard decisions and making uncomfortable changes on our path to a sustainable future,” said William Ruto, President of Kenya.
The declaration also calls for reforms to multilateral financial systems and appealed for debt relief and restructuring existing debts.
Numerous pledges were made during the Summit by the international community to help African nations achieve their goals under the Declaration, many focused on renewable energy. One such pledge came from investors in the UAE who pledged to participate in the purchase of carbon credits generated by African countries to the tune of $450 million.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) and Global Center on Adaptation launched a $1 billion initiative to finance youth-led businesses and startups across Africa
Meanwhile, climate and impact fund manager Camco announced commitments of almost $25 million in equity and debt funding for Spark Energy Services (Spark), its innovative financing platform supporting energy efficiency and captive solar initiatives in Sub-Saharan Africa’s commercial and industrial (C&I) sector.
A summary of the declaration from the African Union can be found on the African Development Bank website here.