The appointed president of COP28, Sultan Al Jaber, stated on Tuesday that "the world is losing the race to achieve its climate change goals." Al Jaber told the delegates participating in the African Climate Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, "We are not achieving the results we need at the time we need them." Investments amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars in sustainable development projects were announced yesterday, as Al Jaber noted that the UAE has committed $4.5 billion to develop clean energy with a capacity of 15 gigawatts in Africa by 2030. The continent currently has an installed renewable energy production capacity of about 60 gigawatts.
Kenyan President William Ruto mentioned that special drawing rights should be made available to the most needy countries, pointing out that this has not happened before. He complained that African countries pay five times the interest that other borrowers do, and called on multilateral financing institutions to increase concessional lending and hold a "conversation" about imposing a carbon emission tax to fund development. Ruto further stated that "having a fair international financial structure is not an unjust proposal."
Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank, urged that the continent's natural wealth be taken into account when calculating its economic output, especially its forests that sequester carbon. He continued, "If this is done, the debt-to-adjusted GDP ratio in many African countries will decrease, and they will have greater room to borrow more funding to support their development."
Germany announced funding of up to 450 million euros ($482.31 million), which includes 60 million for a green hydrogen project in Kenya. The United States also pledged about $30 million to support climate adaptation and food security efforts. African officials say that while these investments are welcome, meeting the continent's financing needs will require a shift in the structure of global climate financing, especially given the high debt burdens on governments.
African countries intend to specifically push during the United Nations climate change conference (COP28) for an increase in special drawing rights from the International Monetary Fund, which could unlock $500 billion in climate financing that could be leveraged up to five times. Kenyan President William Ruto reiterated that special drawing rights should be available to the most needy countries, adding that this has not previously occurred.
The summit, which opened on Monday, focuses on mobilizing financing to address Africa's climate change challenges. Researchers note that while the continent is suffering some of the worst impacts of climate change, it receives only about 12 percent of the funding it needs to deal with those impacts.
