“Climate change hugely affects the social economic aspects of our lives and we can no longer ignore the effects. Technology and industrial development has allowed humans to cause an imbalance to the ecosystem and it's time we stopped being mere spectators and take action” said H.E. Sergio Mattarella. He recognized the shared challenges between Africa and Europe saying that culture and climate change are our unifying goals.He condemned any form of war and civil conflicts at a time when humanity needs unity and cohesion.

The lecture gave valuable insights to both the University fraternity as well as students and it was a call to all for unity in mitigating climate change.

The University of Nairobi was honoured to host H.E. Sergio Mattarella,  the President of the Republic of Italy Sergio Mattarella for a public lecture on climate change.In attendance were government officials Hon.Ezekiel Machogu and Hon. Soipan Tuya, Cabinet secretaries for Education and Environment respectively.University of Nairobi Vice  Chancellor,Prof. Stephen Kiama promptly welcomed the president as he highlighted the tremendous achievements of the university in matters of climate. “The University of Nairobi has produced highly skilled human resources who have steered the development of Kenya,”  He said. He went ahead to recognize notable leaders who studied at the university among them Wangari Maathai who is an epitome of sustainable influence in climate change.

The event coincided with the Long awaited rains in the country after what was termed as the worst drought episode in 40 years.Kenya will be among the 20 countries to benefit from the three-year plan of economic empowerment by Italy.The chancellor of University of Nairobi Dr.Vijoo Rattansi emphasised that the time is ripe to leverage the partnership of Kenya and Italy to address global efforts aimed at combating climate change.

The Cabinet secretary for Education Hon.Ezekiel Machogu complimented her sentiment as he recognized the collaboration between Kenya and Italy in scholarships and research and specifically the joint satellite research between the University of Nairobi and Sapienza University of Rome

The Cabinet Secretary of Environment Hon. Soipan Tuya noted the importance of involving youth in the climate change conversation.Young people have to be involved in decision making, drafting of policy governance and policy development.This she said, will promote intergenerational equity and pave way for young people to be an informed task force towards climate change action.She also mentioned the youth climate summit which is a precursor to the Africa adaptation summit to be held on the 4th to 6th September, 2023 . The main agenda for this project  is to address youth-centric issues and to grow 15 billion trees with efforts to capitalise on nature based solutions.