African heads of state have convened in Kenya for the inaugural Africa Climate Summit, focusing on the continent's strategy to address climate change.

This gathering in Nairobi marks a historic event in Africa and seeks to formulate a unified plan to be presented to global leaders during the upcoming COP 28 United Nations climate summit later this year.

During the three-day summit, attendees will explore a novel financing approach to support governments in their efforts to mitigate carbon emissions.

Kenyan President William Ruto emphasized that Africa should actively contribute to combating global warming rather than merely being impacted by it.

"For a very long time we have looked at this as a problem. It is time we flipped and looked at it from the other side," he told delegates at the opening of the meeting.

"There are opportunities, immense opportunities as well. And that is why we are not here to catalogue grievances and list problems, we are here to scrutinise ideas, assess perspectives, so that we can unlock solutions."

African nations suffer from some of the greatest effects of climate change despite being among its smallest contributors.