African leaders spoke at the United Nations climate summit on Friday (Dec 1), including Kenya's President William Ruto who said the immense potential of Africa as a green powerhouse cannot be neglected.
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00:00 "Turning Africa into a green powerhouse is crucial not only for the continent, Kenya's
00:06 president has said, but for the decarbonisation of the whole world."
00:11 William Ruto was speaking at the COP28 climate summit on Friday.
00:15 "We cannot afford to neglect the immense potential or ignore the pressing needs of
00:22 a continent on the cusp of transformative growth."
00:26 After a year of record temperatures, the pressure is on for this year's summit to accelerate
00:31 action to limit climate change.
00:34 And that's at a time when Africa's potential for renewable energy production, in particular
00:39 green hydrogen, has been in focus.
00:41 "Climate change does not respect artificial distinctions, traditional boundaries or old
00:48 antagonisms.
00:49 Instead, it should unite us against a shared, borderless challenge."
00:56 But this has also been a year that has witnessed catastrophic and deadly floods in East Africa,
01:02 following a record drought.
01:05 Kenya was one of the countries affected, so too was Somalia.
01:09 Intense rains there have displaced hundreds of thousands of people, adding to a humanitarian
01:14 crisis caused by years of insurgency.
01:18 Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohammed also spoke at COP on Friday.
01:23 "For a country struggling with debt stress, unlimited access to finance, fighting terrorism
01:30 and responding to a humanitarian crisis at the same time is akin to impossibility.
01:37 The case of Somalia is a clear demonstration of the intricate linkage between climate change,
01:44 peace and security."
01:47 The UN summit started on Thursday, with delegates adopting a new fund to help poorer nations
01:51 cope with costly climate disasters.
01:54 South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday commended the initiative.
01:59 However, he also added that if it is to effectively support the most vulnerable countries, then
02:05 there will need to be more funding on a much greater scale.
02:09 For more UN videos visit: www.un.org/webcast
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