At the world’s biggest climate summit, underway in Dubai, it is a table of deals and pledges for Kenya, and President William Ruto yesterday announced that Kenya had secured ground-breaking deals worth $4.48 billion (Approximately Sh680 billion) for green development projects, some signed during the Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi in September.

The President also announced that Nairobi had opened a door to a cascade of investment opportunities from various parties globally.

For developing countries, these commitments for financial flows are a lifeline. At every climate conference, the clarion call from African leaders is that Africa’s adaptation and mitigation targets are ambitious, but

require urgent resource mobilisation and fulfilment of unmet commitments, a common outcome once the COP’s lights go out.

In his remarks, President William Ruto spoke of Africa’s greening journey through Africa Green Industrialization Initiative (AGII), capitalising on the United Arab Emirates’ Clean Energy Pipeline in Africa. The initiative was launched at the Nairobi Africa Climate Summit.

“The initiative marks a concrete step toward the realisation of the Nairobi Declaration, activating private sector-led scaling-up of green industrial clusters,” said the President, adding that finally, represented countries at COP28 have agreed that it’s not a question of “if”, but “when”, the international finance architecture is fit for purpose and serves the needs and nuances of the current situation, globally and especially in the developing countries.

“We have also agreed that we are going to have new interventions that will give us new sources of revenue for climate cation,” he said.

African presidents who attended the AGII launch and a showcase of pipeline green events echoed the President’s remarks and termed the AGII as the pathway for Africa’s developments.

“We are forging a green pathway for Africa. Through strategic collaborations with industrial and energy

developers across the continent, we have set in motion a virtuous cycle, fostering economic growth and sustainable job creation” stated Mr Macky Sall, President of Senegal.

The COP28 President, Dr Sultan Al-Jaber, lauded the initiative as an opportunity to elevate the ambition of the COP28 Presidency’s Clean Energy program, launched during the Africa Climate Summit.

“The UAE not only wants to support countries’ green industrialisation, we want populations in those countries to have access to high-quality jobs and opportunities. This is the spirit of green industrialisation,” he said, further emphasising that the challenge the African continent faces is not in scarcity of resources, but in action.

Commenting on the deals, however, Mr Mohamed Adow, Founder and Director of Power Shift Africa, a Nairobi-based climate think tank, warned against getting “distracted” by the deals being announced at the summit.

“The flurry of announcements coming out of COP28 are largely to be welcomed,” he said, “It is good to see countries and companies taking voluntary action to cut emissions, boost renewables and deliver more climate finance, but we need to remember that COP28 is not a

trade show and a press conference; it is an international negotiation, and that is still the most important part.”

Treasury Principal Secretary Dr Chris Kiptoo, also speaking in Dubai, said that Kenya needs more than Sh7 trillion to adapt to and mitigate climate change between 2020 and 2030, and that Nairobi has pledged to raise 13 per cent of the amount, with the balance being covered by developed nations.

“We have a huge financing gap between what we require and the resources available, and that is why we are here today. The bulk of money comes as a mitigation, not adaptation fund. Mitigation comes as loans and not grants. I just came from Kenya where we had to release Sh7 billion to deal with floods, and prior to that we just came out of a prolonged season of drought, the worst in 40 years. Climate change is a matter of urgency,” he said.

COP28 deals:

• Green hydrogen gas and Ammonia worth $1.5 billion deal between Kenya and Fortescue, a green energy company. The project initiation and conceptualisation started in October 2022.
• $1 billion 300mw Suswa geothermal project; Government of Kenya and Government of Indonesia.
• $110 million 35mw Menengai geothermal project by Geothermal Development Company, with Globeleg.
• $800m 200mw Paka geothermal project with Geothermal Development Company and Amea Power of UAE
• $200m for Energy Supply Chain (CESC) of the US
• $ 270M sustainable agriculture project, a United Green and Kenya Development Corporation deal.
• 35 MW Globeleq's Menegai Geothermal Plant: Project investment estimated to be valued at US dollars 110 million.
• US dollars 600 million data centre at Olkaria Kengen – Konza – USA investors. Commercial Operation Date: November 2025

lnjeru@ke.nationmedia.com