By Dibo Willis-Ambetsa

President William Ruto has asked the youth in Africa to use their skills and energy to solve the worsening climate crisis.

President Ruto, who was speaking as he opened the Africa Youth Climate Assembly in Nairobi, a pre-event ahead of the Africa Climate Summit that starts on Monday, said that the youth must drive the continent’s climate agenda and climate-smart efforts.

He noted that they have the capacity to create a sustainable future that will safeguard Africa’ natural carbon sinks and transition the continent’s consumption to be greener and decarbonised.

“African youth must be solution oriented. Being here and holding this event, you fought your way and continue demanding for opportunity that you deserve,” President Ruto said as he declared the forum, whose theme of the assembly is “African-led solutions to global challenges”, opened.

The youth used the forum to rally climate action and draw attention to the unique climate-related vulnerabilities faced by countries in the continent.

They said they will innovate solutions especially through green entrepreneurship to not only create jobs for themselves but to also generate incomes needed to power economies into prosperity.

Meanwhile, Environment Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya on Friday opened the three-day eleventh Climate Change and Development in Africa Conference (CCDA) in Nairobi, which is organised by ClimDev-Africa.

She noted that Africa has the resources to overcome the climate crisis and turn it into an opportunity for accelerated development through innovation, clean technologies and shift to green production.

She added that Africa’s sustainable development will largely be influenced by the continent’s adaptation, mitigation and resilience capacities to the worsening climate crisis.