Global climate investment must prioritize Africa: Ruto
President William Ruto wants international monetary bodies to be more African-centric in providing funding to fight global warming and climate change.
In his address at the 36th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Saturday, the president underscored the continent’s pressing need to resolve the climate threat.
“For us in Africa, mitigating climate change is a matter of human safety and security, stability of our communities, and economic development. Everything is at stake,” said Dr Ruto.
The Kenyan Head of State asserted climate resilience is an integral part of Africa’s pursuit of sustainable development, urging multilateral lenders to curate financing mechanisms to reflect Africa’s priorities.
“It is time for climate financing mechanisms and multilateral development financing to imagine Africa as a legitimate stakeholder.
“We must arm Africa with the requisite tools to build resilience and cushion the continent from adverse impacts such as conflicts,” the president said.
He lamented the ‘unresponsiveness’ of the global financial architecture to Africa’s needs which has dragged post-pandemic recovery, urging the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank to support African countries saddled with debt.
“IMFand the World Bank need to work together to solve the burgeoning debt crisis affecting Africa and other reform agenda. The desirable institutional infrastructure ought to provide finance that is accessible, affordable and one that promotes technology transfer,” said Dr Ruto.
