Africa must take the lead in climate action to attract investment, create jobs, strengthen economies and build greater resilience, President William Ruto has said.
He said climate action presents an opportunity growth that strengthens African economies while protecting people and the environment.
“Africa must therefore pursue practical pathways that strengthen our economies while advancing climate action,” he said.
He said Africa has the resources, potential and opportunity to build green from the start, adding that the Global Green Industrialisation Agenda provides a pathway to translate that potential into investment, industry and prosperity.
Ruto made the remarks when he chaired a meeting of the Committee of African Heads of State and Government on Climate Change in New York. The leaders were forging Africa’s common position for COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye, and building towards COP32 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Ruto expressed concern over the continued failure to honour global climate commitments and called on Africa to remain active in international climate negotiations and insist on delivery.
“The world does not lack climate pledges. It lacks delivery. Temperatures are rising faster than promises are being fulfilled. Africa’s task is to help close that gap,” he said.
He pointed out that finance remains the greatest constraint to climate action and called for stronger delivery on climate financing commitments.
“Climate finance is not charity. It is an obligation under the Convention and the Paris Agreement,” he said.
He stated that the world must confront the adaptation finance gap, estimated at between $200 billion and $400 billion a year.
“Last year in Belém, Brazil, he world agreed to triple adaptation finance. But a promise to triple is not a plan to deliver. The Adaptation Fund secured only about $138 million against a $300 million target,” he said.
Ruto explained that the transition to climate resilience and low-carbon development will not succeed unless the system that finances it is fixed.
He noted that climate risk is increasingly moving to the centre of economic policymaking, saying Africa must ensure that climate finance supports resilience, investment and economic transformation.
He called on African countries to take a common position ahead of COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye, anchored on implementation and delivery.
He warned that the urgency of climate action continues to grow as temperatures rise and climate impacts become more severe.
“The numbers are sobering. Last month tied with July 2023 as the hottest 30-day period on record, with global average surface air temperature 1.65 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average,” he said.
He added that UNEP now warns that overshooting 1.5 degrees is unavoidable while a predicted super El Niño could expose Africa and other vulnerable regions to some of the gravest impacts.
President Ruto said Africa must maintain the vision of the Nairobi and Addis Ababa declarations by treating climate action as an investment opportunity that drives economic growth, competitiveness and resilience.
Later, Ruto joined fellow leaders at the Coalition for Children’s Rights and Protection in the Age of AI High-Level Meeting at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, where they launched a roadmap to translate commitments on child safety in the digital age into practical action.
He said Kenya is strengthening child online protection through laws, policies and the National AI Strategy while ensuring children can fully benefit from technology
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