Panelists call for climate momentum on Africa to be maintained

Panelists at this year’s Africa Climate Summit called to maintain and amplify momentum from last year’s event, at which leaders called for initiatives to advance green development on the continent in a document called the Nairobi Declaration.

Among other goals at this year’s event, they said they want to strengthen multilateral cooperation, make adaptation a priority and champion financial architecture reforms.

Musalia Mudavadi, Prime Cabinet secretary and cabinet secretary for foreign and diaspora affairs of Kenya called it a “daunting but surmountable” challenge that will need to be addressed to keep developing nations in Africa from accumulating ballooning debt in the face of climate adaptation.

The continent emits 7% of greenhouse emissions despite being home to nearly 17% of the world’s population but experts say it is particularly vulnerable to climate change as it less able to adapt.

On Tuesday, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres urged rich nations to double financing for climate adaptation to 40 billion U.S. dollars a year by 2025.

African nations hope to use the funds to improve their resilience to extreme weather events, such as droughts or floods, increase tree cover and protect biodiversity, as well as expand their renewable energy capacity.