The United Arab Emirates and Kenya have stressed the importance of strengthening their close cooperation during the upcoming African Climate Summit and 28th session of the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP28).

The two countries believe that these events provide an opportunity for the international community to agree on a future path that focuses on practical solutions to climate change.

President William Ruto of Kenya and Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and COP28 President-Designate, have called for continued action on climate change in a joint statement issued today.

The two leaders said that climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing the world today and that it requires "continued work" to reach the "highest aspirations" of the African Climate Summit in Nairobi and COP28.

The statement reads, "Climate change is one of the greatest challenges confronting the world today. Both the Africa Climate Summit and COP28 will be critical milestones in the year of the Global Stocktake for the international community to come together and provide a solutions-oriented path forward.

“We [President Ruto and COP28 President-Designate Dr. Sultan Al Jaber] are determined to work hand in hand to ensure COP28 and the Africa Climate Summit will deliver real and tangible results for the climate and for the people of Africa and the world.”

President Ruto commended the UAE, its leadership and the COP28 Presidency on its long-standing support for sustainable development and climate action. He also affirmed his support for the COP28 leadership team and welcomed Dr. Sultan Al Jaber in his role as COP28 President-Designate, noting the expertise he will bring to this role given his credentials as a leader in the energy transition and renewables scale up across the world. “We will work together to facilitate the highest possible ambition across every climate pillar at COP28," he added.

COP28 President-Designate Dr. Sultan Al Jaber underscored the importance of the Africa Climate Summit as a pivotal moment for Africa and on the Road to COP28 to accelerate the energy transition and bring African solutions to COP28 this November and welcomed Kenya and President Ruto’s climate leadership.

"We are pleased to announce that COP28 and Kenya will join forces to champion action towards the necessary tripling of installed renewable energy capacity by 2030. This collective target requires a global effort to accelerate a just energy transition, which leaves no one behind. We call on all parties, in every region, to join this effort and work together in order to mobilise a global movement of action," he said.

Africa has the potential to lead this transition and deliver enormous benefits for the region and globally. In addition to being home to one of the planet’s most important carbon sinks, it is endowed with significant untapped hydro potential along the Congo and Nile rivers, geothermal potential along the Rift Valley, and solar potential across the Continent. It is also home to the current and next generation of climate leaders, entrepreneurs, business and civil society that will help unlock the solutions to transformative action. On a continent where almost half of the population still lacks electricity, clean energy provides an opportunity to supercharge economic growth and improve lives and livelihoods.

Realising this potential will require a step change. Clean energy investment in Africa represents only 2 percent of the global total and less than 10 percent of the US$120 billion a year that is required.

The joint statement reads, "We must transform the way we deploy public, concessional, and philanthropic capital to drive the private investment that is needed for climate action in Africa. We need to fundamentally rethink the way financiers, governments, global institutions, and technology providers engage with each other. We must all play our collective part, especially to ensure that climate action leverages and benefits all of society, including women, youth and children, and indigenous peoples.

"To underscore our commitment to results we [President Ruto and COP28 President-Designate Dr. Sultan Al Jaber] have today launched a joint working group between the Africa Climate Summit and COP28 with a focus on the just energy transition and unlocking climate finance to accelerating green growth in Africa in the lead up to the respective summits.

"In addition to working together on a COP28 energy transition plan, Kenya and the COP28 Presidency look forward to working closely on organising the first-ever health day and climate-health ministerial, which aligns with Kenya’s leadership on this issue.
President Ruto commends the incoming Presidency on its comprehensive approach for COP28 which will seek to integrate the response to biodiversity loss and climate change, transform our food systems, address the growing climate burdens on human health, and prevent and address severe and destabilising climate impacts, especially in the most vulnerable communities.

"President Ruto and COP28 President-Designate Dr. Sultan Al Jaber will maintain close coordination at the political level in the coming months, towards the delivery of a highly ambitious outcome in Nairobi and at COP28 in Dubai," the statement concluded.