Local weather finance to circulation to Kenya as UK Prime Minister agrees with President Ruto to fast-track KES 500 billion of British funding

• UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Kenyan President H.E. William Ruto met on the COP27 local weather summit right now [Monday 7 November].
• The leaders agreed to fast-track six inexperienced funding initiatives value KES 500 billion spanning inexperienced vitality, agriculture and transport.
• Sunak praised Kenya’s pioneering local weather management and urged President Ruto to proceed championing clear development.

The UK and Kenya have agreed to fast-track six initiatives value KES 500 billion to speed up the circulation of local weather finance into Kenya after the UK Prime Minister and President Ruto met on the COP27 local weather summit in Sharm-el-Sheik, Egypt.

These new, clear and inexperienced investments will turn into flagship initiatives of the UK-Kenya Strategic Partnership – an formidable five-year settlement that’s unlocking mutual advantages for the UK and Kenya.

The initiatives embody: new geothermal and photo voltaic vitality era at Menegai and Malindi; a KES 425 billion Public Non-public Partnership to ship the Grand Excessive Falls Dam, which can generate a gigawatt of renewable energy and supply an space over twice the scale of the Maasai Mara with drought-combating irrigation options; the inexperienced regeneration of central Nairobi anchored round a brand new central rail station; and a Ksh 32 billion funding in a climate-resilient agriculture hub for the Lake Victoria area in Kisumu that may create 2,000 direct jobs and supply an earnings for an additional 20,000 farmers.

The UK Authorities will commit KES 2 billion to a brand new assure firm that may decrease funding danger and unlock KES 12 bn of local weather finance for Kenyan initiatives over the subsequent 3 years, by collaboration with CPF Monetary Companies and different non-public buyers.

The Prime Minister praised President Ruto’s pioneering local weather management and urged Kenya to proceed alongside the trail of inexperienced development, urging all international locations to ship on the commitments made at COP26 in Glasgow.

All through its COP26 Presidency, the UK has labored with companions throughout Africa to ship and construct on the Glasgow Local weather Pact, and to see commitments made at COP26 was motion. For instance, in Kenya since COP26 £5.4m has been dedicated and £2.8m shall be spent to help Kenya’s vitality transition, unlocking non-public sector funding in forest safety and the Kenyan Authorities’s formidable 10% forest cowl goal.

However the UK recognises that there’s additional work to do. Throughout his current go to to Kenya, COP President Alok Sharma reaffirmed the necessity for progress on entry to finance and transformational adaptation motion by COP27.

British Excessive Commissioner to Kenya Jane Marriott, mentioned:

The UK and Kenya go far after we go collectively. By fast-tracking finance into these clear, inexperienced initiatives with trustworthy, dependable funding the UK is supporting Kenya to advance and preserve its continent-leading local weather credentials – with mutual advantages for each our international locations.

EDITORS NOTES / BACKGROUND

Particulars of the initiatives to be fast-tracked

1. Malindi Photo voltaic Growth: KES 7.5 billion funding. A 40 MW photo voltaic plant, constructed by UK firm Globeleq with finance from British Worldwide Funding, which was related to the grid in December 2021. Plans will double the scale of Malindi Photo voltaic and add battery storage – an extra Kes 7.5 billion funding – making over Kes 15 billion whole.

2. Menengai Geothermal: KES 2.5 billion funding. A 35 MW geothermal challenge led by GDC and Globeleq which can mark the complete improvement of a area found by GDC. The challenge has a signed and efficient Energy Buy Settlement with KPLC that confirms one of many most cost-effective tariffs for baseload renewable energy.

3. Grand Excessive Falls Dam: KESe25 billion funding. A Public Non-public Partnership on the Tana River that may generate 1,000MW of hydroelectric vitality capability and irrigation for 400,000 hectares of farmland. Led by UK engineering agency GBM, the challenge is envisaged to incorporate each a Energy Buy Settlement for clear vitality and a Water Buy Settlement for agricultural irrigation.

4. Nairobi Railway Metropolis: KES e.5 billion funding. A inexperienced regeneration of central Nairobi, anchored round a brand new central rail station related to Bus Fast Transit, incorporating the newest improvements in inexperienced constructing know-how and planning. The challenge has been developed with technical help from the UK Authorities and UK architects (Atkins) gained the contract to design the brand new station.

5. United Inexperienced: KES 31 billion funding. Local weather-smart crop and agro-industrial processing system by way of a three way partnership with Kisumu County that may create 2,000 direct jobs and supply an earnings for an additional 20,000 farmers throughout counties the Lake Victoria area.

6. Ensures: The UK Authorities is collaborating with CPF Monetary Companies and different non-public buyers, together with Cardano Improvement, to launch a brand new assure firm that may de-risk investments and unlock non-public finance from pension funds and insurance coverage corporations for initiatives in Kenya. The UK authorities will commit Kes 2 billion to the corporate, which can mobilise Kes 12 billion of latest local weather finance for Kenyan infrastructure over the subsequent 3 years.

Progress on UK-Kenya-related Commitments Since COP26

The UK’s Partnership for Accelerated Local weather Transition (UK PACT) programme is supporting initiatives in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa. For instance, in Kenya since COP26 £5.4m has been dedicated and £2.8m shall be spent to help Kenya’s vitality transition, unlocking non-public sector funding in forest safety and the Kenyan Authorities’s formidable 10% forest cowl goal.

Launched beneath its COP26 Presidency to speed up clear vitality transitions, the UK will proceed to help the multilateral initiative – the Vitality Transition Council (ETC) – in its 11 accomplice international locations throughout Asia and Africa till at the very least 2025 – together with Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt and Morocco. By means of its technical help mechanism, the Fast Response Facility (RRF), the Council will help its accomplice international locations to search out, coordinate, and implement options extra quickly – together with on distributed and large-scale renewables; inexperienced grids; and vitality effectivity.

The UK-Kenya Strategic Partnership

The UK-Kenya strategic partnership joint assertion might be discovered right here.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The COP26 Outcomes report particulars key achievements throughout the UK Presidency’s 4 overarching objectives of mitigation, adaptation, loss and injury, finance and collaboration. Highlights from COP26 and the UK Presidency embody:

Protecting 1.5 levels alive: Over 90% of the world’s GDP, up from 30% when the UK took on the COP presidency, is now coated by web zero commitments with over 153 international locations placing ahead new 2030 local weather plans, often known as nationally decided contributions.

Rising funding and launching UN work for coping with local weather impacts: document quantities of adaptation finance have been pledged to the Adaptation Fund and the Least Developed Nation Fund beneath the UK Presidency. As well as at COP26, international locations agreed to double 2019 ranges of adaptation finance by 2025, the primary quantified adaptation finance goal.

Accelerating unprecedented sectoral transitions with commitments protecting the vitality, coal, methane, fossil gasoline financing, forests and land, and transport sectors, together with the primary reference to coal in a canopy determination agreed by 197 Events.