Welcome
Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi – African solutions to global challenges
Bärbel Kofler, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, and Jennifer Morgan, State Secretary and Special Envoy for International Climate Action at the Federal Foreign Office, are representing Germany in Nairobi.
The Africa Climate Summit hosted by Kenya begins tomorrow in Nairobi. Germany has also been invited to the Summit and will be represented by Bärbel Kofler, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, and Jennifer Morgan, State Secretary and Special Envoy for International Climate Action at the Federal Foreign Office. Three months before the Climate Change Conference in Dubai, the Summit in Africa is bringing together leading government representatives and international, private sector and civil society organisations to discuss and promote African approaches to solving the global climate crisis.
Dr Bärbel Kofler:
Climate action is especially successful when we work on it together. This, the first Africa Climate Summit, provides an exciting forum to discuss African solutions to climate change, the global problem we share. We have decided not to launch any new German initiatives at this Summit so that we can focus on lending active support to African initiatives. After all, it is not just that Africa is feeling the impact of climate change. The continent also has a lot to offer in terms of concrete solutions. If Europe and Africa join forces, we make more progress than we do alone and can together benefit from the climate-friendly transformation of the global economy. This is the signal this Summit should send.
Jennifer Morgan:
Africa is a continent full of opportunities, particularly when it comes to the energy transition and the expansion of renewable energies. The potential is gigantic and many African countries have recognised the huge opportunities of the energy transition and are striding forth with great ambition. Germany works closely with Kenya and many other African countries to tap the potential offered by the transformation – new jobs, local value-added and secure generation of power at affordable cost. The extreme impact of the climate crisis is felt more keenly on the African continent than almost anywhere else in the world. Yet the Climate Summit in Nairobi also showcases Africa’s leading role when it comes to climate ambitions and the expansion of renewable energies. Europe is working shoulder to shoulder with Africa to keep the 1.5 degree limit within reach, thus preventing even more devastating impacts of the climate crisis. To achieve this, we need a major acceleration in the expansion of renewable energies worldwide, a clear exit strategy for fossil fuels and strong partnerships – between Africa and Europe and indeed worldwide.
Germany will make a number of pledges in the spheres of climate, energy, development and economic policy so as to achieve the aims of the Summit and those of African partners. These pledges include a debt swap for climate change adaptation, the market ramp for green hydrogen for local fertiliser production in Kenya, the hedging of climate risks at the Horn of Africa, a loan for the socially just energy transition in South Africa, the electrification of refugee centres using solar plants and the restoration of forest landscapes, forest protection and their sustainable use.
One focus of the Summit will be the question of financing, a question in which the World Bank and regional development banks play a key role. Germany advocates reforming the international financial architecture to mobilise more funding for global challenges such as the global energy transition and climate action, to accelerate green industrialisation on the African continent and thus to combat poverty in the long term. The Summit will be a further good opportunity to find partners in this endeavour.