COP28 President welcomes Nairobi climate declaration

COP28 President and UAE's Special Envoy for Climate Change Sultan Al Jaber has welcomed the Nairobi Declaration that was arrived at during the inaugural Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi.

The three-day summit ended on Wednesday with African Heads of State and Government agreeing to adopt 10 calls to action to tackle the global crisis of climate change.

Al Jaber said the Nairobi Declaration is a clear statement of Africa’s determination and climate leadership, which aligns with the ambitions and priorities of the COP28 Presidency.

"The declaration is a reminder that the continent is a beacon of hope, filled with potential and a global example of what pro-climate, pro-growth, and nature positive development should look like," Al Jaber said.

He said the COP28 welcomes the support expressed by African leaders in the Declaration and committed to continue working collectively with the leaders "and others from the Global South to build on the achievements of Nairobi and deliver transformative results at the summit".

The Africa Climate Summit was a build-up to the COP28 which will take place from November 30 to December 12, 2023.

Among the issues agreed upon during the Nairobi summit include the establishment of the Africa Climate Summit as a biennial event convened by the African Union and hosted by AU Member States.

The African leaders also proposed the establishment of a global tax regime to finance climate action at scale by crowding in and de-risking private capital, including but not limited to financial transactions tax (FTT) and emission levies.

"We call upon world leaders to appreciate that decarbonising the global economy is also an opportunity to contribute to equality and shared prosperity," the leaders said.

They also invited Development Partners from both the global south and north to align and coordinate their technical and financial resources directed toward Africa to promote sustainable utilization of Africa’s natural assets for the continent’s progression toward low carbon development, and contributing to global decarbonization.

"We call for acceleration of the ongoing initiatives to reform the multilateral financial system and global financial architecture including the Bridgetown Initiative, the Accra-Marrakech Agenda, the UN Secretary General’s SDG Stimulus Proposal and the Paris Summit for a New Global Financing Pact," they said.