Climate Talk

Ruto did well at COP28, could have done better

By Mohamed Adow

President Ruto's full speech at COP28 meeting in Dubai

The speech by President William Ruto at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai last week was a milestone. We have long needed an African to provide global climate leadership and his argument that the world should not be satisfied with another minimal increment’’ of climate progress was one of the headline moments of this COP so far.

Ruto observed that the approach to combating the ‘‘borderless’’ climate crisis must be ‘‘collaborative, inclusive and anchored in justice.’’ These, as the president rightly pointed out, are the ingredients that could yet make COP28 a turning point in the fight against the climate emergency.

President Ruto’s rise comes at a time Africa needed a climate champion to advance the continent’s interests and priorities on the world stage. To this end, Ruto has taken up this challenge and represented the continent with authority, decisiveness and charisma. In a way, he has earned his stripes in the climate discourse. This is the kind of leadership that other African heads of state must also demonstrate.

Kenya is arguably Africa’s leader in renewable energy, which is good for not just climate, but also for Kenya’s economy. Renewable energy is, without a doubt, the answer to energy poverty that has plagued millions of Kenyans for decades. To see the president recommit to ensuring Kenya attains 100% renewable electricity by 2030 is a good sign. This shows his government acknowledges the climate, economic and social justice case of renewable energy.

It is impossible to think of a better platform than COP28 to highlight the shameful truth and to remind the world that Africa receives only two percent of global renewable energy investments as the president did. How can this possibly be right?

A handout picture provided by the UAE Presidential Court shows President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (R) welcoming the President of Kenya, William Ruto, prior to the opening ceremony of COP28 UAE . PHOTO | EISSA AL-HAMMADI | UAE PRESIDENTIAL COURT | AFP

Ruto was on point to emphasise why it is vital that the world secures an agreement in Dubai to have global renewable energy capacity tripled by 2030. This will be a big step. But to do that, developed nations must move the needle and provide the investment to kick-start this revolution.

What better way to do this than to increase Africa’s share of the world’s renewable energy funds from the current two per cent to 20 per cent as proposed in the Nairobi Declaration of the Africa Climate Summit.

However, Mr Ruto could have been even stronger and more decisive in his remarks at COP28. As Africa’s leading voice on climate issues, Ruto needs to remind rich countries of their failure to deliver adequate adaptation spending. He must also remind them that they have failed to stay true to their COP26 pledge to double adaptation finance.

We must not forget that to Africa, the ability to adapt to the shocks of the climate crisis is the only assurance of life. It is the only way communities whose livelihoods are under the acute threat of collapse, will be saved from destruction.

Crucially, therefore, Ruto also needs to push leaders in the Global North to pledge, new additional, money to the new Loss and Damage Fund. This fund was a great victory for Africans at COP27. But what can an empty wallet do to a starving and ailing man? This fund will only be effective if countries commit funds to it.

The commitments must also be sensible and ambitious. It is both laughable and tragic for the US to pledge a pittance to the Loss and Damage Fund. To what extent can the $17.5 million pledged by the US fix a crisis that requires money by the trillions of dollars? What does this lackluster intervention mean about the commitment of a country that is not only the largest producer and consumer of fossil fuels but also the biggest historical polluter? Should these kinds of jokes be tolerated in climate negotiations?

The US can do better. The world can do better. But developed countries have repeatedly shown us that they will not honour their pledges without pressure. This is the pressure President Ruto and other African leaders must apply to meet their climate obligations.

In his COP28 speech, President Ruto rightly said the fight against climate change is a social justice issue. What he fell short of is pointing fingers in the direction of real climate culpability. Failure to call out rich nations boldly and explicitly for these failures amounts to failing the continent. It is also complicity in a way. We cannot maintain the status quo of climate negligence. African leaders must not let the rich world off the hook.

Mohamed Adow is the Founder and Director of climate think-tank Power Shift Africa