ANTICIPATING a significant economic impact, organisers of the Africa Climate Summit have revealed expectations of striking deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars during the event scheduled for next month. Joseph Ng’ang’a, Chief Executive of the Africa Climate Summit’s secretariat, shared insights into the anticipated deals, noting they would span from $1 million to the upper echelons of hundreds of millions of dollars. The summit, set to take place from September 4 to 6 in Nairobi, Kenya, aims to highlight the increasingly popular trend of nature-based investments in addressing climate challenges.
With the active participation of more than 20 African heads of state and government, along with 20,000 delegates from across the globe, including UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the Africa Climate Summit aims to amplify the continent’s collective voice in addressing climate change. The event also seeks to present a unified message as a precursor to the COP28 UN climate summit scheduled for later in the year.
Ng’ang’a emphasised the variety of deals set to be discussed at the summit, encompassing both private and public funding initiatives for nature-based investments, clean energy production, and climate adaptation efforts.
The pressing need for action is underscored by the challenges African countries face due to changing weather patterns, leading to devastating impacts like droughts, floods, and storms attributed to climate change. To tackle these issues, the summit aims to leverage innovative approaches such as nature-based deals.
In recent months, several African countries have ventured into nature-based agreements as part of the global effort to combat climate change. Notable among these initiatives is Portugal’s commitment to exchange $153 million of Cape Verde’s debt for nature investments. Additionally, Gabon completed a similar deal this month, allowing the nation to repurchase $500 million of its international debt while issuing an eco-friendly amortizing bond of equal value.
Ali Mohamed, Kenya’s special envoy for climate change, highlighted the significance of the summit in advancing solutions. He stressed the importance of African governments pushing for the realisation of financing commitments made by wealthier nations in previous climate summits, including the unmaterialized loss and damage fund agreed upon at COP27 in Egypt.
Mohamed stressed the distinct approach of the Africa Climate Summit, stating, ‘We are holding this summit not to continue repeating the same messages. We are holding this summit for Africa to present solutions to the challenges.’ One of the central objectives heading into COP28 is the recognition of the Congo forest basin as a crucial carbon sink, reflecting the commitment of African nations to drive meaningful change in the face of climate adversity.