Nairobi, 09 December, 2025 / 3:35 PM
Faith actors in Africa have been challenged to use their voices to champion aligning “spiritual values with scientific solutions” to safeguard the future of clean energy on the world’s second-largest continent.
In her keynote address during the breakfast side event of the seventh session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-7) on Tuesday, December 9, at the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) in Nairobi, the Senior Climate Change and Energy Advisor at Christian Aid urged faith groups in Africa to unite in advocating for clean energy.
“We need to use our voice. We need to engage in these conversations to ensure alignment between spiritual values and scientific solutions for Africa's clean energy future. It's about us, and even working with our stakeholders, we are a powerful catalyst, and we can do it,” Jacqueline Kimeu said.
Ms Kimeu added, “We need to move forward together in unity and purpose, guided by God's evidence and conviction to achieve a resilient planet for parents and future generations. We have our role; it's very clear, we are needed, and we must play our role.”
The one-day event that the Laudato Si Movement (LSM) organized alongside the December 8–12 UNEA 7 assembly focused on the theme, “Faith in Action for an Accelerated and Inclusive Renewable Energy Transition.”
Bringing together delegates from various faith groups across the African continent, the event sought to reiterate and bolster the stance of the faith groups on the need to act swiftly on the transition to clean energy in Africa.
The event was built on the faith groups’ commitment that calls for an energy transition grounded in the principles of integral ecology and inclusive participation.
Other topics deliberated at the event included the implications of the COP30 outcomes for the continent's renewable energy transition, setting the stage to hold decision-makers accountable for translating COP30 commitments into tangible action during and after UNEA-7 discussions.
In her December 9 keynote address, Ms Kimeu highlighted the various ways in which faith actors can play an instrumental role in ensuring clean energy is embraced in Africa.
She said that faith actors need to act as the bridge between science and local action to ensure that the transition is just, inclusive, and grounded in shared values.
“There's a lot of information and misinformation,” she said, and added, "Faith actors should play that role to ensure that the scientific knowledge, like what we've been discussing in Union, really makes sense at the local level.”
Ms Kimeu said that faith actors should act as intermediaries between policymakers, scientists, and local communities on matters related to renewable energy.
She also said that faith actors have a role in informing and empowering their members about renewable energy. On this, she lauded the Catholic Church for using parishes, outstations and small Christian communities to inform and empower the faithful at the grassroots.
“We are in touch with communities, and we can really ensure that communities really shape what is coming to be discussed in these meetings,” said the Senior Climate Change and Energy Advisor of the UK charity organisation.
She added, “It's our role as faith actors to really ensure that communities are aware, and we have local-to-global collaboration, whereby local communities are really enabled to participate and voice their concerns in these global conferences.”
Ms Kimeu said that faith actors also have the role of catalysing policy changes and leading by example on just energy transition, especially by adopting renewable sources of energy in places of worship.
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“It's not about the big systems, but we need to have a starting point around the small solutions that are really beneficial to the local communities, then moving up the energy ladder,” she said.
She said that faith actors should also facilitate partnerships not only in finance but also embrace investment in the just energy transition.
In addition, Ms Kimeu urged faith actors to foster inclusion by ensuring that no community is left behind, especially marginalised and rural populations.
To support renewable energy in Africa, she urged faith actors to root for increased public, grant-based, and concessional finance.
“We want a reformed global financial architecture that will be able to support more public finance going to renewable energy technologies, going to conservation, and also the question of financing,” she said in her December 9 address.
She noted with concern that much of the financing is being directed to the private sector rather than to faith-based sectors, thereby limiting the funds available annually to meet Africa's energy sector targets.
Ms Kimeu also proposed that the subsidies for fossil fuels should be rechanneled to renewable energy.
“It's an opportunity for us to call for redirecting our subsidies that are made for, that are supporting fossil fuel industries. We need that to be championed or redirected to renewable energy. We need to call for non-debt financing mechanisms,” she said.
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