African leaders have called for immediate adoption of renewable energy to avert the rising impacts of climate change.

The leaders, including Kenyan President William Samoei Ruto, COP28 President-Designate Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, and African Union Commission Chair Moussa Faki Mahamat, are currently attending the Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi.

President Ruto noted that limiting global warming to 1.5 C will require tripling the amount of renewable energy produced globally and doubling the rate at which energy efficiency is improving.

“Africa is a continent full of opportunities with an abundance of potential for renewable energy that is just waiting to be realized. With 17% of the world’s population and having the youngest population in the world, with its citizens under 25. Moreover, five of the ten economies with the fastest global growth rates are based there,” reads the joint statement released by the leaders.

According to President Ruto, Africa has ample renewable energy potential, natural assets, and resources not only for green consumption but also to meaningfully contribute to the decarbonisation of the global economy.

“We must see green growth as not just a climate imperative. But also a fountain of multi-billion-dollar economic opportunities that Africa and the world are primed to capitalize on,’’ said President Ruto.

He further noted that Africa’s renewable energy resources are not an environmental necessity but the ultimate catalyst of radical social and economic prosperity that can fuel sustainable development, drive economic growth, and create jobs.

The Africa Climate Summit and COP28 represent important turning points in the realization of our shared goal of accelerating a fair, just, and orderly energy transition that places our economies on a route towards a new, high-growth, sustainable socioeconomic model that is low-carbon and supported by significantly increased climate finance.