President Uhuru Kenyatta to discuss energy in United Nations summit

The geothermal and wind energy projects in the country will likely be President Uhuru Kenyatta's focus in his address to the UN Climate Summit in New York, this morning.

An estimated 120 Heads of State and Government will each get four minutes to present their views and plans on climate change.

President Kenyatta, who arrived in New York on Sunday accompanied by First Lady Margaret Kenyatta, will also address the UN General Assembly on Wednesday.

In a statement, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said: "I want everybody, every country, to have a voice at the Summit."

He said world leaders should go to New York armed with bold ideas to stem the impact of climate change.

"I expect each country to put forth a clear vision of placing the world on a trajectory to keep temperature rise within two degrees Centigrade," he said.

To accommodate the huge group, the summit will break into three parallel sessions where each leader will be expected to express their vision, contribution and the way forward on climate change.

A briefing from the Secretary General says the leaders will then engage industry in pricing carbon emissions, and to announce business actions on climate change.

Uhuru will only be expected to make a bare-bones presentation, which will most likely mention the country's huge geothermal and wind energy extraction potential.

Despite this potential, the Geothermal Development Company says scaling up has slowed down in recent years mainly because of financial constraints.

"Geothermal development has stalled in recent years because of limited funding and lack of private sector participation due to high risks associated with exploration and development of geothermal sites," says the company in a web posting.

On what the Government is doing to protect its most vulnerable people against climate change, the President may market the Sh250 billion Galana Kulalu irrigation scheme in the Coast region.