Kenya rues impact of COVID-19 on climate change in Africa

Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-07 00:35:47|Editor: huaxia

NAIROBI, April 6 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said Tuesday the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the impact of climate change on African economies.

Kenyatta stressed the need for climate action that supports sustainable development and post COVID-19 green recovery plans to build back better, saying Kenya loses 3 percent of its GDP annually to climate change.

The Kenyan leader, who was speaking during a virtual leaders' dialogue on the African COVID-climate emergency organized by the Global Centre on Adaptation (GCA) and the African Development Bank (AfDB), noted that the continent's GDP had, for the first time in 25 years, dropped by over 3 percent in 2020.

"Multiple systemic shocks are now simultaneously threatening African communities: a health crisis, an economic crisis, and a food security crisis, all compounded by the climate change crisis," he said according to a statement issued after the meeting.

Kenyatta noted that COVID-19 had driven more than 40 million Africans into extreme poverty, adding that African countries will require improved access to finance to be able to restart their economies and embark on a low carbon, resilient and inclusive recovery.

"We do this in recognition of the fact that Africa is one of the most vulnerable continents to climate change and climate variability, a situation aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic," the president said.

He told the high-level meeting that was co-chaired by GCA Chairperson Ban Ki-moon that Kenya had deployed significant national resources to scale up climate change adaptation efforts.

According to Kenyatta, Kenya's updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) provides a comprehensive overview of adaptation priorities, with an estimated implementation cost of 4.4 billion U.S. dollars per year.

"While we can realistically mobilize domestic resources to meet 13 percent of this cost, we would need our external partners to support us to fund the remaining 87 percent," Kenyatta said.

He called for more private sector participation and support from development partners in order for Africa to achieve its climate change adaptation agenda.

"I must underscore the need to leverage on the private sector and international finance if we are to achieve this Climate Adaptation agenda. It is only through partnerships that we can strengthen and accelerate resilience on the continent," he said. Enditem

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