GCA CEO and President of Republic of Kenya meet on sidelines of COP28 to confirm plans for new regional headquarters
D
ubai, United Arab Emirates, 3 December 2023 – The CEO of the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) and Distinguished Chair of the Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace and Environmental Studies at the University of Nairobi, Professor Patrick Verkooijen and the President of the Republic of Kenya, William Ruto met on the sidelines of COP28 today to solidify plans for the new nature-based regional headquarters of GCA in Nairobi. Nanne de Ru, co-founder of Powerhouse Company, who built the largest floating office in the world in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, also joined the meeting.
During the Africa Climate Summit, President Ruto announced Kenya will host the regional headquarters for GCA in Nairobi:
“I have had the opportunity to interact with the Global Center for Adaptation, an international organization based in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, whose constitution is an appealing emblem of our aspirations, from the aspirational design of its global headquarters and futuristic regional headquarters in Nairobi, comprising green walls and roof as well as rain gardens, to the collaborative culture of its staff. Unsurprisingly, the Center is intended to inspire the world to thrive with nature instead of pursuing the dangerous course of seeking to thrive at nature’s expense.”
During today’s meeting, it was confirmed the new regional headquarters for the international organization will be built on the site of the Kenya School of Government with construction to begin in March 2024 and expected to finish in January 2025.
President Ruto joined the GCA Advisory Board in September 2023 to guide the mobilization of the financial commitments for adaptation. In a communique issued after the COP28 Adaptation Finance Summit for Africa, President Ruto joined Macky Sall, President of Senegal, Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank, and Prof. Verkooijen in emphasizing that finance for climate adaptation is “make or break for Africa”.
“Positioning Africa at the forefront of the world’s adaptation response, we urge all nations to prioritize supporting Africa to adapt within their climate finance scaling efforts moving forward, as this will have a positive collective impact for the global community,” they said.
Africa currently receives only 20 percent of all climate adaptation finance flows globally, significantly short of the 5 to 10 times of the estimated $2.8 trillion through 2030 of additional financial resources required for Africa to effectively adapt to the climate crisis. According to the AfDB’s latest African Economic Outlook report current finance flows (2021-22) represent just 15–30 percent of assessed annual adaptation needs of the continent. Recent research from GCA showed Africa may need a nearly tenfold increase in climate adaptation funding to $100 billion a year if it is to buttress its infrastructure, improve climate early warning systems, and shield its agriculture from climate change.
Kenya is a key partner for GCA in scaling up climate adaptation across Africa. The Government of Kenya initiated the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP) Country Compacts to enable investors in climate adaptation at the country level to identify the most strategic and catalytic investments in climate resilience, and contribute to the scaling of financing and core national deliverables on climate adaptation. At the Africa Climate Summit, it was also announced that one million young people from the Green Army will be trained in climate adaptation and leadership through a partnership between GCA, the University of Nairobi, the University of Groningen, and the Ministry of Youth Affairs, Sports and the Arts of Kenya.
