Kenyan media outlet Nation has explained why Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, Nigerian head Bola Tinubu and President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa did not attend the climate summit in Kenya's Nairobi.
In Museveni's case, the media cited three senior Kenyan Foreign Ministry officials as saying that the Ugandan leader refused to "be lectured by US climate envoy John Kerry, who hails from a Global North country that is among the world's biggest polluters." The Ugandan leader's stance was articulated in his letter to the Kenyan leadership, according to Nation.
"According to President Museveni, it was very disrespectful to sit in a room and be lectured on climate change by the very people who have plunged Africa and the Global South into this devastating crisis," the outlet reported, citing sources.
In addition, Uganda's president has been reportedly reluctant to engage with the leadership of the US, which has condemned the East African nation's Anti-Homosexuality Act enacted in May for "human rights violations" and imposed travel restrictions against the country's officials, threatening other sanctions.
"In his letter declining to attend the ACS, President Museveni made it clear that Africa is not a slave to anyone and reserves the right to conduct its own affairs as it sees fit," a source told local media.
The outlet explained the absence of the Nigerian leader in a similar vein.
Bola Tinubu reportedly refused to attend the event as he was not keen to listen to the advice and directives of Western countries, who are themselves major polluters of the environment.
Likewise, South African President Ramaphosa reportedly missed the summit since his government is protesting "pressure from some European partners" to embark on a transition to renewable sources and move away from coal, which accounts for 80% of the country's energy.
"They simply did not want to be lectured to and be in the same room with European partners from the West who are the world leaders in pollution but who are planning to impose levies on certain carbon-intensive imports from South Africa at a time when they are struggling with load shedding," the outlet noted, citing sources.
According to the United Nations, Africa is not a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for only 2–3% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions from energy and industrial sources.
The summit eventually adopted the Nairobi Declaration, which called for a "new financial architecture responsive to the continent's needs" and saw funding pledges worth $23 billion "for green growth, mitigation and adaptation efforts."
During the summit, the UN chief Guterres urged G20 members, who are responsible for around 80% of global greenhouse gas emissions, to assume their responsibilities in tackling climate change.