Kenya will use the platform provided by the African Climate Summit next month to call for the renegotiation of country’s debt.
This was revealed on Thursday by Environment CS Soipan Tuya when she inspected the ongoing renovations at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre, the venue of the event set for September 4-6.
“We are proposing that we have a relook into our international financial institutions on how the financing of climate and development is happening and the need to re-engineer that to respond to debt distress question that will give the African countries some space and leg room to be able to focus on development as well as climate action,” Tuya told the press after inspecting the venue.
Tuya said Africa will be putting forward a specific proposal for a new financing architecture that will work to actualise the green growth agenda and also dealing with debt problem crippling the continent.
Statistics from the state shows that Kenya's gross public debt hit the Sh8.8 trillion mark as at the end of March.
Kenya needs $62 billion (Sh6.710 trillion) to mitigate and adapt to the impact of climate change between 2020 and 2030.
The country will mobilise 13 per cent of the resources needed from domestic sources while 87 per cent will come from international sources.
Kenya has also been pushing the developed countries to deliver their pledge as per the Paris Agreement.
Under the agreement, developed countries were to mobilise jointly $100 billion (Sh 10.1 trillion) per year by 2020 to address the needs of developing countries.
This has not been delivered.
Tuya said Africa has massive resources in renewable energy and carbon sinks, the minerals, the availability of sustainable agriculture opportunities among others that will be showcased around the world during the summit.
However, the lack of money as well as technology remains a big challenge.
Initially, the state expected to host approximately 10,000 delegates during the summit but this has since been surpassed as over 12,000 have since registered.
Tuya said 20,000 delegates are set to take part.
The CS said 13 heads of state have since confirmed attendance adding that 25 heads of states are expected to grace the event.
Over 550 have applied for side events.
Tuya said the impacts of climate change in Africa and the world are evident.
"Statistics have it that between 2011 and now, more than 17 million people in Africa have been affected by a combination of storms, droughts, wildfires, floods, and landslides, some of them leading to loss of precious lives,” she said.
Tuya cited the 2023 Global Food Crisis Report indicasting more than 145 million people are food insecure as result of climate change.
She said the World Food Programme estimates that over 9.5 million livestock perished in the Horn of Africa region alone as a result of five consecutive seasons of failed rains. Some 7.4 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa were displaced by natural disasters last year.
“These displacements were caused by weather related events such as flooding, storms, and droughts amongst others," she said.
The African Development Bank estimates that Africa has been losing between five and 15 per cent of the Gross Domestic product every year to climate change, with climate related expenses in the forms of adaptation, driving up government expenses by over 10 per cent of African government budgets.
Major General Benard Waliaula from Kenya Defence Forces said the venue has a completion rates of between 85 per and 90 per cent and will be handed to the ministry by August 20.
KDF took over KICC renovations on July 25.
The state has in the past been calling for a major overhaul of the international financing model, insisting that it is inappropriate.
President William Ruto said Africa has the highest reserve and potential for green energy — geothermal, solar, and wind.
“We also insist quite firmly that international development financing must be more appropriate for the needs of our existential moment, in terms of accessibility, affordability and adequacy,” Ruto said.
“That is why we are insisting we must rethink the international financial system, we align it with reality. The model is not sustainable.”
