NAIROBI, Kenya Nov 6 – President William Ruto will on Sunday lead the Kenyan delegation to the Conference of Parties (COP27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Egypt.
President Ruto will be attending the summit as the Chair of the Committee of African Heads of State and Government on climate change.
State House Spokesperson Hussein Mohammed confirmed that the President will deliver Kenya’s and Africa’s statement on climate change.
“The President will rally the globe towards more ambitious climate action,” Mohammed said.
The President will be seeking “implementation and honoring of commitments made over the past 30 years by countries with the greatest responsibilities for accumulating greenhouse gases causing global warming”.
President Ruto will also outline Kenya’s policies and strategies to tap into the global carbon market.
“Demonstrably, climate change mitigation and adaptation is at the front and center of President Ruto’s development agenda,” Mohammed said.
The President has been at the forefront on matters of climate since assuming office.
He recently announced an ambitious reforestation program to grow at least 15 billion trees in the next 10 years to ensure Kenya attains 30% tree cover by 2032.
The summit will encompass the growing need of virtually blameless poor nations for money to cope not just with future impacts, but those already claiming lives and devastating economies.
In Africa alone, extreme weather events have killed at least 4,000 people and displaced 19 million so far in 2022 according to a study by the Carbon Brief news service.
The ongoing drought in East Africa is impacting the livelihoods of more than nine million people.
1.4 million people have also been displaced in recent weeks in the worst floods on record in Nigeria.
Over 200 nations will converge for the summit that runs through until November 18, 2022.
