President Uhuru Kenyatta to champion climate change in Africa

• Published date: 28 May 2022
• Publication title: Africa Newswire

28 MAY 2022 (NAM NEWS NETWORK) Earlier this week, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta landed the role of global champion for the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Programme (AAAP), a programme ran by the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) and the Africa Development Bank (AfDB).

This comes after Kenya hosted the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Day late last year at the University of Nairobi where a report on the state and trends in adaptation in Africa 2021 was also launched.

GCA regional director Prof. Anthony Nyong noted that the launch would include a series of action-forcing events towards a sustainable momentum for accelerating adaptation action in the African continent.

Speaking during a bilateral meeting held at State House Nairobi, Global Centre on Adaptation Chief Executive Dr. Patrick Verkooijen congratulated President Kenyatta on his new role exuding confidence for a climate resilient continent in the coming days.

Kenyatta is expected to mobilise the global community to honour their numerous commitments of addressing climate change.

AAAP aims to ensure that the global clan adheres to its commitment of banding together climate finance to about 25 billion dollars over a period of five years to speed up the climate adaptation action across Africa.

The funds will go a long way in building a climate-resilient continent and addressing the food crisis by introducing Climate-Smart Digital Technologies, consequently increasing productivity.

The programme has furthermore championed African youths' skills development to equip them with the necessary expertise to prepare them for green jobs and entrepreneurial fortuities. Part of the interventions under the umbrella of the AAAP include YouthADAPT Challenge that has identified 10 climate-smart enterprises that are the forefront of addressing climate change through adaptation practices.

The 10 enterprises are being supported through mentorship and will receive funding to a tune of USD 100,000. The programme is being implemented in Africa by the sustainability consulting farm KCIC Consulting Ltd, an enterprise support organization that was identified by GCA and AfDB to spearhead the challenge in Africa.

Among the 10 climate-smart enterprises include Maima General Dealers Limited based in Zambia which produces environmentally friendly hydroponic millet fodders for smallholder farmers; Kimplanter Seedling and Nurseries Limited in Kenya which specialises on propagation of seedlings of drought-resistant crops to help farmers...