Germany, Kenya Boost Partnership on Climate and Green Energy

(Bloomberg) -- Germany and Kenya pledged to strengthen cooperation on climate protection, green energy and the exchange of workers after talks between Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President William Ruto in Nairobi.

At a joint news conference, Ruto announced that Kenya will join a “Climate Club” established last year by the Group of Seven and said his government intended “to be a robust player in that space.” Scholz told a panel discussion that talks on increased access for Kenyan farm products to the European Union have “reached very far” and that he supports promoting local fertilizer production to lessen dependence on “one or two countries in the world.”  

Scholz’s visit to Kenya and a stop in Ethiopia on Thursday reflect a push to counter Russian and Chinese influence and draw African countries into what he portrays as an alliance of like-minded democracies committed to tackling global warming. 

He suggested production of “green” fertilizers in Kenya could help reduce dependence on suppliers such as Russia.

“Fertilizers and green hydrogen could be part of a process where we’ll have local production of fertilizers in Africa, for instance, so the continent isn’t so dependent anymore on the supply of one or two countries,” Scholz said. 

Kenya’s membership in the climate alliance is an important step as nations seek to coordinate policies and seek to reach emissions-cutting targets, he said. 

“If we want to achieve our ambitious goals, to stop climate change, we will only succeed if we make sure we do it together and effectively align our different approaches,” Scholz said. He promised additional funds for a bilateral climate and development partnership.

Scholz promised that the government in Berlin will lower immigration hurdles for workers from Kenya and other African nations, while saying those countries would have to agree on rules to take back migrants who are in Germany illegally.

Europe’s biggest economy is suffering from an acute shortage of skilled labor and needs as many as 6 million workers from abroad by 2030 to plug gaps across almost all sectors of the economy.

On Saturday, Scholz will conclude his Africa trip with a visit to the Olkaria geothermal facility in Hell’s Gate National Park to the northwest of Nairobi before heading back to Berlin.

(Updates with Scholz comments on agricultural exports, fertilizer starting in second paragraph.)

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