Kenya joined the Middle East Green Initiative (MGI) during the inaugural ministerial meeting held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.
While announcing the news on Wednesday, Environment, Climate Change and Forestry Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale stated that the multilateral programme seeks to tackle climate change through collaborations and green investments.
MGI is also focused on reducing carbon emissions by 670 million tonnes and contributing 10% to the global efforts.
Kenya joins 10 other countries including; Algeria, Chad, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Lebanon, The Gambia, Nigeria, Guinea, Central African Republic and The United Kingdom in the observer status.
The programme which was launched in 2021 targets countries in Central Asia, West Asia, North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa, aiming to drive environmental action and knowledge exchange.
HRH the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia announced in November 2022 that the Middle Eastern nation would establish and host a dedicated MGI Secretariat and allocate US $2.5 billion (Ksh.342.5 billion) to support MGI projects and governance.
This funding was expected to help accelerate the implementation of initiatives slated to help the MGI achieve its objectives.
The membership is another major win in the climate change sector as it comes just weeks after Mandela Township won the global Green City Award for its efforts to rehabilitate land previously presumed barren by planting and nurturing plants over a period of eight years which significantly impacted the lives of the residents in the area.
It also comes just a week after the country celebrated its inaugural Mazingira Day, which was gazetted to dedicate Kenyans' efforts to environmental conservation by planting more trees and cleaning up the environment.
"In furtherance of the Constitutional right to a clean and healthy environment, H.E President William Ruto on 24th April assented to the Statute law (Miscellaneous Amendment Bill 2024) that saw the public holiday amended. Redesignating Utamaduni Day as Mazingira Day to be observed as a national public holiday on October 10 every year," reads part of the notice.
CS Duale on his part appealed to Kenyans to partake in the exercise in order to enable the country to tackle climate change effects head-on.
President Ruto has been very vocal in conservation matters championing the initiative among others like the Climate WorX that seeks to clean rivers in Nairobi and offering employment to Kenyan youth.
Kenya targets the planting of 15 billion trees by 2030 in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 32% by 2030 and also targets to commit to boosting the share of renewable energy in the national grid to 70% by 2030.
