NAIROBI, Sept 5 — UN chief Antonio Guterres joined African leaders today in demanding urgent reforms to the “outdated and unfair” global financial system, speaking at a landmark climate summit in Kenya aimed at showcasing the continent’s green potential.
It is billed as an effort to define a shared African vision for green development on the diverse continent of 1.4 billion people ahead of the COP28 meeting in Dubai later this year. “Global governance structures reflect the world as it was, not as it is,” Guterres said, calling the international financial system “outdated, unfair and dysfunctional”.Kenyan President William Ruto said the continent could not hope to access its potential to be a green powerhouse unless a “just regime” was established.
The V20, a group of more than 50 climate vulnerable countries, called for reforms that would channel capital towards cash-strapped nations struggling to attract investment. Jaber, who heads the UAE’s national oil company ADNOC and government-owned renewable energy company Masdar, said a consortium including Masdar would help develop 15 gigawatts of clean power by 2030.
“I do hope that China and the United States, the two largest economies in the world, the two largest emitters in the world, I hope we could come together” on the issue of climate change, Kerry told reporters.