The Africa Climate Week 2023 (ACW) has come to an end following an intense time held in Nairobi, Kenya, which demonstrated Africa’s resolve to be the world’s leading climate change action. The conference brought more than 10,000 people from multilateral organisations, governments as well as the private sector and civil society across the African continent and around the globe to discuss and plan solutions to climate change.
ACW took place concurrently to the Africa Climate Summit, which witnessed 20 African State and Government leaders Government announce their countries pledge to lead initiatives for renewable energy sustainable land use, sustainable agriculture and cutting-edge climate technology.
“In Africa, we can be a green industrial hub that helps other regions achieve their net-zero strategies by 2050,” declared the President William Ruto of Kenya. “Unlocking the renewable energy resources that we have in our continent is not only good for Africa, it is good for the rest of the world.”
As the effects of climate change intensify across the globe, ACW emphasized the urgent necessity of swift and coordinated action to limit change in the climate. The conference featured talks, workshops and high-level panels, highlighting the possibilities for development and growth which can be accessed when sustainability and innovation are utilized to address the climate crisis. ACW has been the only Regional Climate Week to bring crucial or mandated regional climate summits under one umbrella in the hope of improving efficiency, collaboration and sharing ideas across various areas.
Speakers stressed the crucial role for climate finance to unlock Africa’s potential for green energy and encouraging climate-resilient development with African leaders urging an increase in investment as well as global financial reforms, and more support for countries that are vulnerable to effectively address climate issues.
Through the course of the week, youth took part in discussions about the urgent and coordinated efforts from all nations to reduce emissions and to increase ambition in the fight against climate change.
Simon Stiell, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary of the UN Climate Change, stated: “ACW has identified creative solutions that will attract investors and facilitate transfer of technology, enhance capacities and establish African countries as a leader in sustainability and action on climate change. In the future, let’s insist on achieving ambitious results at COP28 which will allow us to transform the results at this meeting into consensus across the world and, perhaps most important transform them into actuality.”
“Through Africa Climate Week, we have seen the continent’s determination to accelerate action on adaptation and finance, and to deliver climate justice that Africa deserves,” said Inger Andersen who is the Executive Director of UN Environment Programme. “Ahead of COP28, we know this continent comes with a clear voice and a clear commitment to a future where we have a sustainable path to growth.”
ACW concluded with a powerful signal: Africa is not just a climate-related continent It is also an area that has the potential to be the leader in global climate solutions.
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Achim Steiner, the Administrator for the UN Development Programme (UNDP) has said: “Climate change is a opportunity to see beyond the differences and focus on potential, which includes ground-breaking investments in renewable energy sources and adapting. This continent, Africa which is home to the one of the world’s smallest populations, is currently on the leading edge of the integration of electricity access and this new avenues of development based on carbon reduction. However, there is a pressing need to link the climate-friendly solutions that are popping up across Africa with new sources of financing to ensure that every community can improve their resilience to climate change in a continent that is growing faster than other parts of the world and provide a variety of new opportunities such as jobs and income.”
