A collective of independent experts argues that “climate change, misguided development policies and colonial dependencies have locked African countries into perpetual traps, not least external debt.”
Making Africa the continent of the 21st century is the aim of an 89-page report entitled “Just Transition; A vision for Africa’s climate, Energy and Development.” Edited by Youba Sokona, vice-president of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the authors present “opportunities for sustainable and collaborative development.”
The document shows “how the continent can embark on a just-Africa transition” at a time when it continues to “suffer the destructive effects of climate change and many other crises.” Furthermore, it explains “how pan-African collaboration can sustainably place the continent on a new trajectory of development and just transition,
harnessing all its renewable energy, and building on food sovereignty and the development of its potential.”
In their analysis, the fruit of more than a decade of collaboration and experience-sharing, the authors came to the conclusion that “change provides opportunities for Africa to take the reins of its future.” But, they argue, “A better future will necessarily require an unprecedented strategic vision. It will need to be rooted in Africa’s shared history, match its incredible potential, and unfold with confidence.”
The panel went on to say that it sees three structural pitfalls threatening Africa: “food insecurity, food imports and
undernourishment,” “energy insecurity created by inadequate, fossil fuel-based systems” and “failed or ineffective industrial strategies.”
A “transition to food sovereignty through agroecology,” “a just energy transition to fully renewable, people-centered energy systems” and “pan-African industrial policies that mobilize the continent’s resources, while looking after people and the environment” – these are the solutions they see to circumvent the aforementioned pitfalls.
In his preface of the report, William Ruto, President of Kenya, points out that “Africa is brimming with opportunities and natural resources. The continent’s renewable energy potential is 50 times greater than
the anticipated global electricity demand for the year 2040. The continent also possesses over 40 percent of the world’s reserves of key minerals for batteries and hydrogen technologies. Africa also has the largest expanses of arable land and a young population: 70 percent of its inhabitants are under the age of 30.”
Despite all this, say Mr. Sokona and his peers, “the continent will remain a site where other world powers vie for control of resources, markets and institutions unless it renews its strategic vision.” Kenya’s Head of State agrees: “Realizing the continent’s potential requires bold new approaches, commensurate with the existential challenge posed by climate change, from which Africa suffers disproportionately. These bold measures must be accompanied by an acute sense of urgency, and avoid the pitfalls and traps of the mal-development trajectories that have set the continent back in the past. Repeating the mistakes of the past in the hope of achieving new
results is not an option.”
Key messages
The report highlights four levers for putting Africa on the development ramp. With regard to food sovereignty, the document points out that the continent, “a net importer of food,” favors “cash crops, which are nevertheless very expensive and polluting,” before proposing the adoption of “agro-ecological practices (favoring) food
sovereignty, while preserving biodiversity, varieties and local knowledge.”
With regard to energy insecurity affecting “more than 600 million Africans,” the collective of independent experts advises “moving away from the dirty energy infrastructure linked to fossil fuels responsible for global pollution and climate change” to use “cleaner, economical and flexible forms of renewable energy.”
The IPCC vice-president opined that: “Africa (which) is at energy crossroads” must “show the world that a different kind of development is possible in the 21st century (with the implementation of) policies that prioritize renewables and leave fossil fuels in the ground.”
The report advocates a pan-African industrial approach. Thus, the authors “urge African leaders to free themselves from the post-colonial trap of prioritizing extractive industries, simple assembly-line production and low-value-added exports to foreign countries,” and to “develop Africa’s domestic markets, formulate strategic partnerships and trading relationships, on pan-African terms, to create economies of scale in new African industries that respect society and the environment.”
Finally, the document promotes, Africa can, and must, formulate a vision of “just transition” as part of a profound reflection on the meaning of “development,” one that prioritizes human rights and well-being.
ID/ac/fss/abj/APA