Africa's first climate summit opens in the Kenyan capital this Monday as the continent looks to limit the devastating impact of global warming by spearheading efforts for green growth and shoring-up finance for developing countries on the frontline of climate change.
Despite accounting for about 3 percent of global carbon emissions, African countries are increasingly exposed to the impact of extreme weather linked to climate change, highlighted by the Horn of Africa's worst drought in decades.
More than 20 African heads of state and government and 20,000 delegates from around the world, including UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, are joining the summit, which runs until 6 September in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.
"This summit will in priority look at climate financing," Crisis Group expert Nazanine Moshiri told RFI.
As the group's senior analyst on climate, environment and conflict, she expects heads of state to make a strong statement on investment in green growth.
Moshiri also hopes that the countries in the deepest crises, like Sudan, Somalia and the coup-hit Niger and Gabon, won't be forgotten.
Large investments
Deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars are expected to be struck during the summit, organisers say. This includes progress on nature-based investments, clean energy production and climate adaptation efforts.
"We are anticipating deals from $1 million all the way to hundreds of millions of dollars," summit chief Joseph Ng'ang'a told Reuters.
Several nature-based deals involving African countries, which help resolve the dilemma of who foots the bill to combat climate change impacts, have already been announced in recent months.
In June Portugal said it would swap $153 million worth of Cape Verde's debt for nature investments, while Gabon completed a deal this month to buy back $500 million of its international debt and issue an eco-friendly bond of equal size.
Droughts, floods and other disasters
African countries have been severely affected by changing weather patterns and increasingly suffer from droughts, floods and storms.
Most regions are affected, especially the Sahel and the Horn of Africa.
"Human-caused climate change has made agricultural drought in the Horn of Africa about 100 times more likely," a report by the World Weather Attribution found in April.
Dry seasons are becoming longer in parts of the Sahel, and rainfall more intense and erratic, meaning droughts and floods are set to intensify, according to a report by the US International Rescue Committee.
Niger has been hit hard by climate change, losing 100,000 hectares of arable land each year to desert.
A comprehensive analysis examining the wealth of nations and their dependence on fossil fuels also concluded poorer countries would be most hurt by a rapid move away from oil and gas, even risking political instability.
“It’s time to show political will in climate action. #ACS23 will convene African Leaders and one of the outcome is drawing a commitment to take to the global summit including #COP28 in Dubai.” Dr. @PacificaOgola, Director, Climate Change @Environment_Ke pic.twitter.com/ubxzJgwVvT
— Africa Climate Summit (@AfClimateSummit) August 24, 2023
Thinking ahead of COP28
African governments are also gearing up for December's Cop28 climate summit in Dubai, when they will be pushing for the realisation of financing commitments made in previous climate summits by richer nations.
Last year's Cop27 in Egypt agreed to create a loss and damage fund for developing countries, but it has not yet materialised.
Ali Mohamed, Kenya's special envoy for climate change, said the recognition of the Congo forest basin as a key carbon sink was a main objectives heading into Cop28.
"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," he said.
(with newswires)
