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Reporter's note

This week 20,000 delegates from the African continent descended on Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, heavy with expectation regarding their leaders’ ability to crack climate crisis financing, an issue that has eluded the rest of the world and pitted western countries against the global south. The area around the venue, the Kenyatta International Convention Centre, was declared a “red zone” where unauthorised persons were kept away by heavy police cordons, affording Kenya’s president, William Ruto, the chance to drive himself to the venue in a tiny electric car.

Outside the red zone, some civil society groups protested against new investments in fossil fuels. The Kenyan police – who are usually quick to disperse such dissenters, as witnessed less than two months ago during opposition-led demonstrations – looked on, perhaps to avoid a scene in front of delegates.

I sat in the plenary and listened as each African president in the room castigated the global north for failing to protect African countries “that emit less than 4% of greenhouse gases but suffer the most”. As expected, the final day of the summit ended with the Nairobi Declaration, urging the global north to honour the commitment to provide $100bn (£80bn) in annual climate finance “as promised 14 years ago at the Copenhagen conference”.

Will they pay? I talked to a crestfallen delegate from the Rift Valley who doubts “Americans and their friends” will honour these pledges. He called them “bogus friends” who pledged a few dollars to avoid upsetting the assembled leaders. The Daily Nation, Kenya’s largest newspaper, carried a story on Wednesday featuring Joe Biden’s climate envoy, John Kerry, and his stand that the US will not pay climate reparations to developing nations.

Ruto chose to see the glass as half full as he praised governments, the private sector, multilateral banks and philanthropists for their substantial commitments totalling a “remarkable” $23bn for green growth, mitigation and adaptation efforts across Africa. In his final remarks, Ruto told the delegates to “go home satisfied with a job well done”. But for those who have been affected by the ravages of the climate crisis, it might take more than good wishes for them to adapt to the new reality.
Peter Muiruri, reporter, Kenya

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