Developed countries, primarily from Europe, America, and Asia, have been advised to fight for increased financing to combat climate change concerns in Africa.
Mr Gerald Lepariyo, an environmental champion from the Ilchamus community in Baringo County, has urged industrialized nations to contribute more resources to tackle climate change and protect vulnerable people from the harsh effects of climate change problems.
Lepariyo expressed optimism on the Africa Climate Summit 2023 opening day that African states will band together and lobby for additional support from global assistance agencies and developed nations to preserve Africa from future food shortages and climate change disasters.
"The Africa Climate Summit 2023 provides an opportunity for indigenous communities in Kenya and throughout Africa to amplify their voices in order to be included in both national and global climate climate decisions," Gerald explained.
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Pastoral communities in Kenya are always the hardest hit by climate change due to droughts and floods, which cause livestock fatalities and displacement.
"As a youth from the Ilchamus indigenous community, I eagerly await the Nairobi Climate Declaration 2023, which will place indigenous and pastoral communities at the heart of the Africa Climate Summit 2023," the climate change campaigner continued.
The inaugural Africa Climate Summit, spearheaded by Kenyan President William Ruto, intends to address the growing vulnerability to climate change and its related costs internationally and specifically in Africa.
With climate crises expected to become more frequent and intense, immediate action is needed to address these issues.
The Summit will serve as a forum for informing, framing, and influencing commitments, pledges, and outcomes, ultimately culminating in creating the Nairobi Declaration.
In 2020, poorer countries received more than $83 billion in climate finance, a 4% increase over the previous year but still short of the $100 billion yearly goal set in 2009.
