Kenyan President William Ruto has utilized the Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi as a platform to change the prevailing narrative on the continent, presenting the clean energy transition as a distinctive opportunity for Africa, provided it can secure the necessary funding to unlock its potential.
During the conference on Tuesday, the UAE pledged $4.5 billion in clean energy investments in Africa. The UAE is also set to host the COP28 summit in Dubai scheduled for November-December.
Sultan al-Jaber, who leads the UAE’s national oil company ADNOC and the government-owned renewable energy company Masdar, stated that this investment would catalyze a series of viable clean energy projects in the significant continent.
According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, Africa had a renewable generation capacity of 56 gigawatts (GW) in 2022.
UN chief Antonio Guterres urged the international community to help “make Africa a renewable energy superpower”.
“Renewable energy could be the African miracle, but we must make it happen,” Guterres told government and industry leaders.
The three-day Nairobi summit, which commenced on Monday, has drawn the participation of heads of state, government officials, and industry leaders. Among the attendees are leaders from Mozambique and Tanzania, as well as prominent figures such as United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen, and United States’ climate envoy John Kerry.
The summit is presented as an opportunity for African leaders to collaboratively establish a vision for sustainable development across the continent, home to 1.4 billion people. It also sets the stage for extensive international diplomatic efforts leading to the COP28 meeting.