CATF at Africa Climate Week: Urging consideration of the full scope of the climate challenge
Nairobi — Clean Air Task Force (CATF) is participating at Africa Climate Week this month, highlighting the urgent need to reckon with the full scope of the climate challenge and advance a diverse array of climate solutions to decrease emissions while increasing global energy supply to meet rising demand.
“The African continent is sitting in a delicate balance,” said Lily Odarno, CATF Director, Energy and Climate Innovation, Africa. “On the one hand we see deep crisis from political instability, food insecurity, mounting debt burdens, and climate vulnerability. On the other is opportunity and a massive potential for innovation and growth on a continent that is home to the youngest population in the world and is endowed with rich energy and natural resources. We must tip the balance in favor of opportunity and hope.”
“To do this,” Odarno continued, “Africa Climate Week must take the real issues head-on and strive to answer these questions: How can we transform the continent’s energy system while bringing energy access and development to all? How can we build a resilient financial architecture that can support the continent’s climate and development goals? How can we build effective systems of accountability to measure progress in climate action over time?
This year’s Africa Climate Week takes place September 4-8, 2023 in Nairobi, hosted by the government of Kenya. Africa Climate Week 2023 is being held in parallel with the first ever Africa Climate Summit, September 4-6, also hosted by Kenya. These summits will bring together governments, the private sector, technical experts, policymakers and civil society for a raft of events in the Kenyan capital.
Africa Climate Week is one of several regional climate weeks taking place all over the world in the lead up to COP28 in Dubai between November 30 and December 12, 2023.
On September 6, CATF will co-host an official side event: The Role of African Power Utilities in a Just Energy Transition in partnership with EED Advisory, Kenya Power, and the Energy Regulators Association of East Africa. It will be held between 17:00-18:00 EAT and the live stream link is available here.
Representatives of CATF’s Methane Pollution Prevention team are also on the ground, participating in a high-level event on the Global Methane Pledge on September 7 and engaging with our various country partners in Sub-Saharan Africa.
“With COP28 fast approaching, regional climate weeks will be crucial building blocks to a global summit that must take into account all perspectives as the world looks to take on decarbonization across the full climate ecosystem,” said Lee Beck, CATF’s COP28 lead. “These high level, international events provide opportunities for CATF to put world leaders and other stakeholders on the record for meaningful action to address climate change – while at the same time forcing a reckoning on the need to adopt a more pragmatic approach that acknowledges the full scope and scale of the challenge and works within the realities of our global energy system, population, and economic growth.”
Press Contact
Rowan Emslie, Communications Director, EU, [email protected], +32 476-97-36-42
About Clean Air Task Force
Clean Air Task Force (CATF) is a global nonprofit organization working to safeguard against the worst impacts of climate change by catalyzing the rapid development and deployment of low-carbon energy and other climate-protecting technologies. With 25 years of internationally recognized expertise on climate policy and a fierce commitment to exploring all potential solutions, CATF is a pragmatic, non-ideological advocacy group with the bold ideas needed to address climate change. CATF has offices in Boston, Washington D.C., and Brussels, with staff working virtually around the world.
