Developing countries need private sector help. They can’t fight the climate crisis on their own | Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber and William Ruto

As Cop28 gets under way, it is vital that corporations and richer nations invest in the global south

• Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber is president of the Cop28 United Nations climate change conference and William Ruto is president of Kenya

Without urgent action to bolster green jobs in developing economies, the collective action needed to win the fight against climate change will remain elusive. Developing nations face a number of socioeconomic challenges, forcing them to tighten spending. More people worldwide are living in hunger, and 2 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water at home. More than 60% of low-income countries are in, or at high risk of, debt distress, while access to capital is limited and the cost of borrowing prohibitive. This leaves minimal room for the debt creation and spending needed to fund climate action.

Green industrialisation presents an opportunity for developing nations to achieve socioeconomic transformation by combining environmental stewardship and economic progress. It offers a pathway for sustainable and inclusive growth and can address these structural challenges by improving access to energy, industrialisation and diversification, and growing employment.

Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber is president of the Cop28 United Nations climate change conference

William Ruto is president of Kenya

Cop28: Can fossil fuel companies transition to clean energy?
On Tuesday 5 December, 8pm-9.15pm GMT, join Damian Carrington, Christiana Figueres, Tessa Khan and Mike Coffin for a livestreamed discussion on whether fossil fuel companies can transition to clean energy. Book tickets here or at theguardian.live