KENYA TO HOST THE HEADQUARTERS FOR THE GLOBAL CENTER ON ADAPTATION FOR THE AFRICA REGION
Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 3rd December 2023
On the sidelines of COP 28 in Dubai this morning, H.E. President Dr. William Ruto reached an agreement with the CEO of the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA), Dr. Patrick Verkooijen which will enable the construction of GCA headquarters at Kenya School of Government (KSG) in Nairobi beginning in March 2024.
This is in line with plans to accelerate climate change finance efforts in Africa. According to GCA, Africa currently receives only 20 per cent of all climate adaptation finance flows globally, significantly short of the 5 to 10 times the estimated $2.8 trillion through 2030 of additional financial resources required for Africa to effectively adapt to the climate crisis. Africa as GCA advises, may need a nearly tenfold increase in climate adaptation funding to $100 billion a year if it is to buttress its infrastructure, improve climate early warning systems, and shield its agriculture from climate change.
Cabinet Secretary for Public Service, Performance and Delivery Management, Hon. Moses Kuria said the agreement was an incredible milestone and that it was timely for Africa.
“Raising Green Finance for Climate Adaptation is of utmost urgency, especially in Africa. President Ruto has led from the front in this endeavour,” he said.
Hon. Kuria also said the construction of GCA Headquarters at KSG will help transform KSG into a centre of knowledge and expertise on Climate Change and Adaptation matters which he noted is a key pillar in the ministry’s vision to reestablish KSG into a modern institute.
Highlights of the agreement include:
1. That the GCA Headquarters in KSG will be the Africa headquarters and serve the whole continent.
2. Mazingira House will be the Headquarters for Kenya’s Ministry of Environment, Climate Change & Forestry.
3. The construction of 40 High-End Green Luxury Living Residential Units.
4. The construction of 50 Presidential Villas that will be managed by KSG.
5. That GCA will co-host the Global Conference for Schools of Governments and Think Tanks on African Affairs at KSG in March 2024 with AU-NEPAD, Afriexim Bank, Africa Development Bank, AAP, AfCFTA, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Columbia University and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The conference will coincide with the groundbreaking of the GCA Headquarters.
COP 28 is the United Nations Climate Change Conference taking place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from 30 November until 12 December 2023. COP 28 stands for the 28th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
UN Climate Change conferences (or COPs) take place every year and are the world’s only multilateral decision-making forum on climate change with almost complete membership of every country in the world. The conferences bring the world together to agree on ways to address the climate crisis, such as limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, helping vulnerable communities adapt to the effects of climate change, and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
More than 70,000 delegates are attending COP28, including the member states (or Parties) of the UNFCCC. Business leaders, young people, climate scientists, Indigenous Peoples, journalists, various experts and stakeholders are also among the participants.