Ruto champions climate action, green growth on global stage

President William Ruto speaking at the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York

President William Ruto has told world leaders that Africa is not a passive victim of climate change but a rising source of solutions.

The President said Africa is positioning climate action as both a survival strategy and a growth opportunity.

Speaking at the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Ruto said Kenya’s own investments in renewable energy and green technologies as proof that transformation is possible.

“This ambition is visible on the ground. Today, 93 per cent of Kenya’s electricity comes from renewable sources geothermal, wind, solar, and hydro. We are expanding investments in e-mobility, climate smart agriculture, clean cooking solutions, and green manufacturing. We are also pioneering nature compatible solutions such as sustainable waste management and circular economy interventions,” he said.

The President said that the Global Stocktake had shown the world is off track in meeting its climate goals.

Current national commitments, he warned, were steering global temperatures far beyond any safe threshold. He stressed that this was the difference between survival and devastation for millions across the world.

Ruto said Africa is uniting behind a common climate agenda with the Nairobi Declaration adopted at the inaugural Africa Climate Summit in 2023, and its reaffirmation at the second summit in Addis Ababa earlier this month.

“We declared Africa not just as a victim of the crisis, but as a source of solutions with climate action driving economic growth, transformation, and job creation for our communities,” he said.

The President said that implementing the new NDCs will require $56 billion calling on the global community to unlock the $300 billion agreed at Baku and accelerate negotiations on the $1.3 trillion goal under the Baku-Belém Roadmap.

Ruto also pressed for reform of international finance systems to ensure affordable climate finance for developing countries.

Without this, he cautioned, Africa’s climate ambition would remain constrained.

“We are building a climate-resilient society by embedding adaptation into every sector. But without affordable finance and reform of the global financial architecture, the promise of climate action in Africa will remain constrained,” he added.