Kenya’s Ruto presses for finance reform at Paris climate summit
President William Ruto of Kenya urged global leaders to accelerate climate action through finance reform, calling a deal negotiated during talks in Paris a win-win even as he stressed that he would “like to see more clarity” on how the US$9 trillion needed annually to contain global warming will come to poorer nations in the developing world.
The New Global Financial Pact Summit, a two-day meeting that ended Friday in Paris, led with a commitment to further discussion on development bank and other finance reforms. Ruto said the summit also made progress on new global sources of financing for climate action.
“This will move us closer to addressing the climate crisis,” Ruto said. But whether the summit will deliver on results remains in question, with Ruto saying “the ultimate judgment rests in our hands as the world will pass the verdict.”
Ruto stressed the importance of opportunity for Africans, and promoted a shift away from international dialogue on climate that focuses on blame. “We want to be at the table where we are all looking for solutions. That is why we are in this conference,” he said. “We have not come here to complain to anybody. We’ve come here because we want to look for a solution.”
President Emmanuel Macron of France hosted the summit, which was attended by global leaders including International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, World Bank Group chief Ajay Banga and Janet Yellen of the United States Treasury.
Other African leaders on hand included Akinwumi Adesina of the African Development Bank and President Mohamed Bazoum of Niger.
Image: Presidency Kenya
Laureen Fagan
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Laureen is a freelance journalist creating high-quality, informed content on international affairs, politics and technology. She has worked both in and out of newsrooms since 2000. She is a former paramedic with significant experience in community resilience and nonprofit community development initiatives, and maintains "a passion for action" on sustainability and climate change. She also is trained in conflict resolution and diversity, and has special interests in science and medical reporting, and culture and religion issues. Laureen received her MSJ from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism in the United States, and completed additional graduate study in theology at University of Notre Dame. Follow Laureen on Mastodon at @laureen@m.ai6yr.org
