- Tuya said Kenya got the greenlight to co-host the event from the Africa Union following an offer by President William Ruto.
- The Africa Climate Summit and Africa Climate Week shall consist of pre-events staged by various stakeholder groups including youth, civil society, private sector and academia.
Image: HANDOUT
Kenya has launched the African Union meeting Secretariat Office in Nairobi, marking the commence of Africa Climate Summit.
The meeting, held on Friday unveiled the event's venue, theme, and its leadership and technical teams.
The summit of African Heads of State and Government on climate will be co-hosted by Kenya and the African Union in Nairobi from September 4 to 6.
This year's Africa Climate Week will run from September 4 to 8 at Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC).
Speaking during the unveiling of the Secretariat Office, Environment, Climate Change and Forestry CS Soipan Tuya said Kenya will host over 10,000 delegates for the twin events.
"We expect the participation of over 10,000 delegates in Nairobi for both events. The participants will include Government delegations, representatives from UN agencies, multilateral development institutions, financial institutions and private sector," she said.
Tuya said Kenya got the greenlight to co-host the event from the Africa Union following an offer by President William Ruto.
"Ruto in his capacity as the Chair of the Committee of African Heads of State and Government on Climate Change (CAHOSCC) offered for Kenya to host the Africa Climate Summit and the offer was unanimously approved on 19th February 2023 during the 36th Ordinary Session of the African Union (AU) Assembly held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia," she said.
"We thank the AU member states and leadership for putting their trust in Kenya as they have done time and again, reflecting confidence in our leadership," Tuya added.
The CS stated the summit, to be held under the theme, "Africa Together for Bold, innovative and Resourced Climate Action will Unlock Climate Finance and Green Investments.
It will also seek to consolidate Africa's voice ahead of this year's 28th UN Conference of Parties (COP28) in the United Arab Emirates, as well as craft the continent's green growth blueprint.
"The Summit will provide a platform for consolidating Africa's voice ahead of this year's United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and the UN Secretary General's Climate Summit in September, and COP28 in the United Arab Emirates later in the year," Tuya said.
Besides the Nairobi declaration, Tuya said organizers expect participants at the inaugural summit and Africa Climate Week to strike new partnerships that will increase climate financing and enhance investments in low carbon and climate resilient development in Africa.
The summit will explore six thematic areas covering; climate finance, mitigation and green growth, climate adaptation and resilience, loss and damage, climate vulnerable groups, and research innovation and technology.
The Africa Climate Summit and Africa Climate Week shall consist of pre-events staged by various stakeholder groups including youth, civil society, private sector and academia.
Africa Climate Summit and Africa Climate Week Secretariat is led by the Director for Climate Change at Kenya's Ministry for Environment, Climate Change and Forestry Dr Pacifica Ogolla and Leah Wanambwa of the African Union Commission (AUC).
Planning and Steering Committee is headed by Festus Ngeno, Principal Secretary in Kenya's State Department for Environment and Climate Change, his Foreign Affairs counterpart Korir Sing'oei and Harsen Nyambe Nyambe, AUC's Director for Sustainable Environment and Blue Economy.
CS Tuya leads the Executive Oversight Committee alongside her Foreign and Diaspora Affairs counterpart Alfred Mutua and Ambassador Jossefa Sacko of AUC.
The Executive Committee is led by Ruto, his Union of the Comoros counterpart Azali Assoumani and AUC Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat.