COP 27: President William Ruto to leave for Egypt on Sunday

President William Ruto making his address at State House, Nairobi on October 27, 2022 after presiding over the swearing-in of 22 Cabinet Secretaries. [Denish Ochieng, Standard]

President William Ruto will travel to Cairo, Egypt on Sunday, November 6 for the United Nations Conference of Parties on Climate Change, State House Spokesperson Hussein Mohamed has said.

Ruto is the chairperson of the Committee of African Heads of State and Government on Climate Change, and will deliver Africa's statement on climate change at the convention.

This will be the 27th Conference of the Parties (COP 27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

According to State House Spokesperson Hussein Mohamed, President Ruto will make a case for Kenya and Africa on the effects of climate change.

President Ruto's speech will also touch on the adverse effects of drought and food insecurity in Africa.

The Head of State is also expected to rally countries towards the implementation and honouring of commitments that have been made in the past on how to deal with greenhouse gases that cause global warming.

Mohamed said Ruto will also outline Kenya's policies and strategies towards tapping into the global carbon market.

The Cairo convention will run for 13 days, and will be attended by delegates from 197 countries that are bound by the Paris Agreement, an international treaty on climate change.

The agreement was adopted in Paris in December 2015, and operationalised in November 2016. It seeks to limit global warming to below two degrees Celsius.