Kenya’s Call for Urgent Climate Funding at COP 30
Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has emphasized the urgent need for the release of trillions of dollars in promised funds to Kenya and Africa, aiming to combat the effects of climate change. He highlighted that Africa has been underfunded, pointing to a lack of attention on the continent’s potential to significantly contribute to global climate efforts and bureaucratic challenges that hinder progress.
Kindiki, representing Kenya at this year’s COP 30 conference in Belem, Brazil, assured the summit of the country’s commitment to meeting its obligations. This includes the goal of transitioning the energy grid to 100% green energy by 2030. “Building on this foundation of clean energy, Kenya has updated and submitted a bold and ambitious economy-wide Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC 3.0) focused on greening the energy and industrial sectors,” he stated.
This initiative aligns with the African Climate Action agenda outlined by the Nairobi and Addis Ababa African Climate Summits of 2023 and 2024 respectively. Kindiki made these remarks during the Leaders’ Summit ahead of the 30th Session of the Conference of Parties (COP 30) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Despite these commitments, Kindiki revealed that Kenya has only received $50 million (Sh6.5 billion) against a promise of $62 billion (Sh8 trillion) to implement its commitments by 2030. “The gap between promise and delivery is huge. Sadly, every dollar delayed, every bureaucratic obstacle and every failed commitment has a human cost,” he said.
He noted that Africa continues to suffer from the severe effects of climate change, including frequent droughts, floods, and recent landslides and mudslides in Kenya across the continent. “Global investment in Africa has been minimal and slow,” he added. “Less than two percent of the three trillion dollars invested in renewable energy over the last two decades has reached Africa, with 600 million people on the Continent left without access to energy.”
Despite this shortage, he emphasized Africa’s critical role in consolidating efforts to achieve global goals on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and tackling climate change. “Africa can help the world in the transition to green energy because it has the world’s largest untapped renewable energy resources, vast critical mineral resources essential for energy transition and a youthful demographic that can power the next phase of global manufacturing,” Kindiki added.
As he challenged leaders to follow up on their promises to developing nations, the DP said the COP 30 ought to be the conference that unlocked trillions needed to match the scale of the climate crisis. He called for the operationalisation of the Baku-to-Belem Roadmap and a clear path for mobilising 1.3 trillion dollars for developing countries by 2035 as agreed at COP 29 last year in Baku, Azerbaijan.
“The failure to honour commitments, bureaucratic delays and the lengthy discussions at the COPs that prioritizes process over delivery are simply cruel and unjust to the millions suffering from the effects of harsh climate today,” he added.
Additionally, Kindiki called for a more-inclusive fight, stating that a more consolidated effort is more fruitful. “Climate policies must integrate the empowerment of Women, the Youth and the Farmers, ensuring that the benefits of green economy are equitably shared across communities, gender and generations, and that the 1 billion people in Africa who lack clean cooking amenities are prioritized,” Kindiki said.
COP 30 is expected to officially begin on November 10, 2025, with focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, adaptation to climate change and climate finance for developing countries.
In an interview with the Star, COP30 president Ana Toni said will spotlight on examples from the Global South.