Officials and activists in the climate sphere held a meeting on Friday, to reflect on the outcomes of the recently held United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), lessons learned and the way-forward in implementing action against climate change.

The summit took place in Egypt early last month, and it was the biggest in-person gathering on climate change since the onset of Covid-19, as it brought together some 35,000 people, among whom were 100 heads of state.

Speaking during the event organised to reflect on the summit, Faustin Munyazikwiye, Deputy Director General of Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA), hinted on the key achievements of the country, saying that the main one was the launch of Ireme Invest, a green investment facility worth $104 million (approx. Rwf109 billion) for supporting private sector ventures in climate-resilient projects.

"There’s hope in the COP27 outcomes especially for countries being affected by climate change. We are working together to break the narrative and start putting forward facts of loss and damage, when the fund is fully established at COP28, then we can start working together with the mechanism," he said.

Honorine Isingizwe, Executive Director at Young Volunteers for the Environment (YVE), noted that Rwanda should be a leader in driving the way forward after the summit.

"Rwanda is a country which is driving climate change. The way forward is having an action plan. Also, it’s crucial to work together with civil society and the private sector because we can achieve a lot by working together. There should also be raising of awareness of the outcome of COP27 among youth, for them to be informed and boost each other’s capacity," she said.

Faustin Vuningoma, Coordinator of Rwanda Climate Change and Development Network, said that currently there are good signs that the government is putting good effort in addressing climate change.

"There are indicators that give us hope; one is that the government is putting in effort. There is also hope from the European Union and negation blocks, this gives hope that something will change tomorrow. So, we keep anticipating that year after year, something new will come, that’s what keeps our hope," he noted.