NAIROBI, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Kenya on Monday urged African countries to establish own climate change funding mechanism to save the continent from huge burdens on their economies.
Charles Mutai, the director of Climate Change in the Ministry of Environment, said the fund will help provide finance mechanisms for priority climate change priorities.
"The increased climate change vulnerability causes huge burdens in the continent hence the need for homegrown funding mechanism," Mutai told delegates from African countries who are attending Africa Regional Forum on Climate Technology.
He said the funding can help accelerate the development, deployment and transfer of locally relevant climate and clean energy technologies in the continent.
Mutai revealed that Kenya has developed climate change fund and science, technology and innovation act that facilitate the promotion, coordination and regulation of the progress of science, technology and innovation in the country.
He noted that the continent urgently requires innovative technologies on flood management, crop resilience, soil protection and early warning systems.
Mutai said that with the increasing frequency and intensity of droughts and floods, the continent requires technology cooperation to help reduce the cost of tackling climate change while stimulating opportunities for sustainable development.
The meeting has been organized by the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN), an implementation arm of the technology mechanism of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The center promotes the accelerated transfer of environmentally sound technologies for low carbon and climate resilient development at the request of developing countries.