Kagame attends UN Climate Summit

President Paul Kagame yesterday attended the UN Climate Summit at the 69th United Nations General Assembly in New York, according to a statement from the President’s Office. The summit, hosted by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, brought together world leaders to mobilise political will for a universal and a legally-binding comprehensive agreement. The agreement is expected to be sealed in Paris by the end of 2015. The meeting was attended by 100 Heads of State and Government as well as over 800 leaders from business, finance and civil society. In a statement issued during the summit, Rwanda shared its vision for sustainable energy. “We want to produce and consume more, not less. But we want to do so sustainably and affordably. Ultimately, it is about faster progress for our people,” the statement reads in part. President Kagame and the President of the EU Commission José Manuel Durão Barroso signed the Sustainable Energy Declaration Agreement. As part of national efforts to address climate change challenges, Rwanda established Fonerwa, a national fund for environment and climate change which has raised $75 million in one year. The fund is considering various funding mechanisms, including research and development, carbon pricing as means to raise funds to invest in low carbon energy. To date, Africa is only using 12 per cent of the worlds hydropower potential and is currently exploiting less than 10 per cent. Through carbon financing, Africa would be able to harness renewable energy by selling carbon credits to larger emitters. The one-day summit aimed to galvanise transformative action in all countries to reduce emissions and build resilience to the adverse impacts of climate change. The next summit will be held in Lima, Peru ahead of the one slated for Paris.

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Kagame attends UN Climate Summit