President William Ruto today led the groundbreaking ceremony for the establishment of the Global Centre on Adaptation Dual Headquarters.
Ruto expressed Kenya's commitment to combat the escalating
global climate crisis.
He stressed that Kenya is fully committed to the principles
of sustainable development and climate resilience.
He made the remarks after breaking ground for the construction of the dual headquarters of the Global Centre on Adaptation (GCA).
The other GCA headquarters is in Rotterdam, the
Netherlands, and serves the developed world. The one to be based in Kenya will
serve the Global South.
"The establishment of this centre is timely, strategic, and visionary," Ruto said.
"It will serve as a regional
platform for policy dialogue, cutting-edge research, and capacity-building to accelerate
climate adaptation."
The President said the institution will be built for Sh1.7 billion but at no cost to the Government of Kenya.
The centre is the initiative of former United Nations
Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, who launched it in 2018. Ban Ki-moon now serves
as GCA's honorary chairman.
The organisation focuses on accelerating climate adaptation efforts in vulnerable regions of the world, including Africa.
“We are placing climate adaptation at the heart of public service to support institutional transformation for governance that is climate-responsive,” Ruto said.
Ruto said the new headquarters will bring together researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and development agencies to design and deliver practical solutions.
"We aim to place climate adaptation at the heart of public service training, performance management, and leadership development," he said.
Also present were the former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, former President of Senegal Macky Sall and President and CEO of the Global Centre on Adaptation Patrick Verkooijen
