Kenya’s President William Ruto, who took office last month, urged Africa to embrace renewable energy, breaking ranks with continental peers that are pressing ahead with plans to develop natural gas resources.
In order to boost energy generation from renewable sources and to adapt to a warming climate, Africa will need funding and technology from the rich world, Ruto said in an opinion piece in the UK’s Guardian newspaper on Tuesday. Unlike many African countries, Kenya already derives 92% of its energy from renewable sources and aims to increase that to 100% by 2030, Ruto said, referring to the country’s geothermal, wind and solar plants.
“We do not need to destroy the climate to prosper,” he said. “Rather than trudging in the fossil-fuel footsteps of those who went before, we can leapfrog this dirty energy.”
Ruto’s call to arms comes as Senegal, Tanzania and Mozambique rush to develop gas-fields off their
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