Alliance for Science has launched the Climate Action Zone in collaboration with the United Nations Environmental Programme, the Africa Development Bank, and the Green Climate Fund.
Others in the collaboration are the International Federation of the Red Cross and TEARFund.
Sheila Ochugboju, Executive Director of Alliance for Science, said the event is designed to complement the Africa Climate Summit, which will take place in Nairobi from September 4th to 6th.
“This dynamic platform aims to bring attention to locally-driven climate initiatives throughout Africa. The venue for the Climate Action Zone will be the Radisson Blu Hotel in Upperhill, Nairobi,” Ochugboju told the Star on Thursday.
This dedicated space at the Radisson Blu Hotel will allow partners to focus on climate action to accelerate progress toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, she said.
Ochugboju added that the Climate Action Zone (CAZ) is designed to strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related challenges.
“We want to provide a space for youth, farmers, and women to engage in conversations about the available solutions for mitigating the effects of climate change,” she added.
The CAZ, she said, is intentionally crafted to be inclusive and youth-centric, facilitating open and candid discussions on topics that might need to be more prominent during the main summit's agenda.
Janet Macharia of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs says the CAZ will provide an opportunity to interrogate gender-differentiated impacts of climate change, focusing on solutions.
“It is time to show the world that women are at the forefront of climate change adaptation and that Africa is moving forward in implementing mitigation measures,” she said.
Speaking on the phone on behalf of Phillip Thigo, Executive Director of Thunderbird School of Global Management, Kate Idwasi said Thunderbird played a pivotal role in rallying support for President William Ruto’s climate action, education, creative economy, and space initiatives.
“Climate change is an existential threat, necessitating collective efforts from academia, civil society industry, and governments to realise their nationally determined contributions,” said Idwasi.
The event will be a platform to harness solutions and advanced carbon accounting methods through discussions with the Africa Green Building Summit, Mama Doing Good, and South-South Collaboration.
Ochugboju urged key partners to come together during the climate action zone in support of the climate action agenda.
