Africa Climate Summit: William Ruto Officially Opens Inaugural Conference With Keynote Address

• President William Ruto arrived at the inaugural Africa Climate Summit in an electric car, emphasising Africa's commitment to combating climate change
• In his keynote address, he underscored Africa's vital role in the global fight against climate change, acknowledging the continent's vulnerability to shifting weather patterns
• Ruto called for directing investments and appropriate technology to unlock Africa's resource potential, promoting sustainable development

Nairobi - President William Ruto has officially opened the inaugural Africa Climate Summit at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre and has made his keynote address to the thousands of delegates attending the event.

The head of state who arrived at the KICC for the first day of the much-waited conference in an electric car underscored the place of Africa in the fight against shifts in weather patterns whose impacts are already palpable in the continent.

What did Ruto say at Africa Climate Summit?

In his address on Monday, September 4, at KICC, Ruto said the summit seeks to position Africa as a key player in the global efforts to fight and mitigate climate change.

"I welcome all the delegates who responded positively to Africa's call to gather at this inaugural Africa Summit. You have not just stepped into a conference hall; you have entered the future. This is no ordinary summit," he said in his opening remarks.

Ruto on renewable energy

The Kenyan leader said Africa has ample renewable energy to green its consumption and also contribute to the decarbonisation of the global economy.

"Let me be clear: these conversations are necessary. Africa’s carbon footprint remains small, but the human toll of climate change is disproportionately high. The urgency to address loss and damage and to configure appropriate financial mechanisms for resilience grows with each extreme weather event and each bout of climate-induced insecurity," he said.

He reiterated that the summit provided an opportunity to scrutinise ideas, assess perspectives, and unlock solutions instead of listing and focusing on the problems and challenges.

"The very format of this Summit has been designed to facilitate such engagements. Over the next three days, be ready to be challenged in this dynamic ecosystem of dialogue and discovery. This occasion summons us to contemplate the full range of possibilities that can be unleashed by directing investment and appropriate technology to actualise our continents’ abundant resource endowments" he added.

Further, the president maintained Africa is able to sustain all its energy needs with renewable resources such as wind, solar, geothermal, sustainable biomass and hydropower.

"In fact, Africa can be a green industrial hub that helps other regions achieve their net zero strategies by 2050," he said.

While praising Kenya's national grid for operating on three Giga Watts, with 92% of that power being renewable, Ruto said it is possible to achieve 100% renewable energy by 2030 and a 100-watt grid, entirely renewable by 2040.

Ruto tells delegates to be wary of lions

In his opening remarks, the president hilariously told delegates attending the Africa Climate Summit to be wary of lions that may have strayed from the Nairobi National Park.

Ruto told the delegates that Nairobi has a flourishing forest on one end and a wildlife national park on the other.

"We keep the wildlife in the park because we have a fence, but sometimes, as nature would be, they break away from the fence, so, while you are doing your morning walk, you might encounter a lion; please be careful as it is not tamed. It is wild," he said as the audience broke into hearty waves of laughter.