Space Industry and Business News
TRADE WARS
Africa demands global finance reforms to unleash its green growth
Africa demands global finance reforms to unleash its green growth
By Kelly MACNAMARA and Nick PERRY
Nairobi (AFP) Sept 6, 2023

African leaders on Wednesday demanded sweeping changes to the global financial system and urged the international community to back a surge in renewable energy as they wrapped up a landmark climate summit in Kenya.

Africa is acutely vulnerable to the growing impacts of climate change, but leaders at the three-day meeting in Nairobi were eager to cast the continent not as a victim but a long-ignored ally in the fight against global warming.

"Africa possesses both the potential and the ambition to be a vital component of the global solution to climate change," said the final declaration from the meeting, on behalf of the African Union.

But, it warned, unlocking green growth across the continent "on a scale that can contribute meaningfully to decarbonisation of the global economy" required a massive scaling up in funding.

It called on the international community to ease Africa's crushing debt burden and reform the global financial system to unblock investment in clean energy.

Consensus is hard-won across Africa, a diverse continent of 1.4 billion people where some governments are championing a renewable-powered future while others defend their reserves of fossil fuels.

But leaders had "adopted unanimously" the declaration, said AU Commission head Moussa Faki Mahamat.

"At the summit, our shared understanding became clear: that Africa is not only the cradle of humanity, it is indeed the future," said Kenyan President William Ruto, host of the inaugural Africa Climate Summit.

Analysts say a united African voice could generate momentum for a series of key gatherings, including the G20 meeting in New Delhi this weekend, ahead of a crunch UN climate summit starting in November.

Africa attracted only two percent of global spending on renewables over the last decade, according to the leaders' statement.

But it said the continent would need a "tenfold increase in the finance capital flowing" into renewables in the next seven years, some $600 billion, to achieve the aim of boosting renewables from 56 gigawatts (GW) in 2022 to at least 300 GW by 2030.

Efforts at the summit to up investment in renewables were given a boost on Tuesday, with the United Arab Emirates pledging $4.5 billion to accelerate Africa's switch to clean energy.

Ruto said a tally of funding pledges for the continent had reached $23 billion at the summit, but he did not provide a detailed breakdown.

"The Nairobi Declaration is a clear statement of Africa's determination and climate leadership, which aligns with the ambitions and priorities of the COP28 Presidency," said COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber in a statement shared with AFP.

- African potential -

Competing visions of the world's energy future are likely to play out at the COP28 talks in the oil-rich UAE, where the world will take stock of the as-yet-inadequate efforts to slash planet-heating emissions.

Ruto has said Africa is well placed to take advantage of the need to move away from carbon-spewing fossil fuels, boasting a young population, vast renewable potential and natural resources.

This includes a large proportion of global reserves of cobalt, manganese and platinum crucial for batteries and hydrogen fuel cells.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) says Africa hosts 60 percent of the world's best solar resources.

But there are daunting challenges for a continent where hundreds of millions lack access to electricity.

- Global overhaul -

African countries, facing mounting debt costs and a dearth of funds, have called for a complete overhaul of the global financial architecture, adding to pressure on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank to unlock investment and climate finance.

The declaration called for "concrete action" on reforms that lead to "a new financing architecture that is responsive to Africa's needs", including debt restructuring and relief.

Ruto said it was time to overhaul global financial systems that "perpetually place African nations on the backfoot".

"We demand a fair playing ground for our countries to access the investment needed to unlock the potential and translate it into opportunities," he said.

Leaders also pressed the world's wealthy polluters to honour their pledges, including to provide $100 billion a year for clean energy and to help them brace for climate disasters.

Related Links
Global Trade News

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
TRADE WARS
Why China's response to economic challenges is not working
Beijing (AFP) Sept 7, 2023
Data from China on Thursday showing falling exports fanned more fears about a slowdown in the world's second-biggest economy, which has struggled with its post-Covid recovery. Governments and markets alike are concerned about these indicators - the size of China's economy and its connections with the rest of the world mean any ups and downs are felt far and wide. Here is a rundown of the problems facing China's economy, and why analysts believe Beijing is not doing enough to fix them: Why i ... read more

TRADE WARS
From art squat to Berlin gentrification lightning rod

US envoy feasts on Fukushima fish, slams China water 'dumps'

Japan PM eats 'safe and delicious' Fukushima fish

Northrop Grumman delivers mini laser to US Government

TRADE WARS
Hughes awarded Space Force IDIQ Contract for LEO satellite services

Lockheed Martin to supply 36 Small Satellites to advance SDA satcom network

USSF contracts OneWeb for commercial LEO communications services

RTX to develop platform agnostic, beyond-line-of-sight, satcoms

TRADE WARS
TRADE WARS
Present and future of satellite navigation

New Galileo station goes on duty

Potential earthquake precursor discovered through GPS measurements

Northrop Grumman's new airborne navigation system achieves successful flight test

TRADE WARS
Iran adds Russian combat trainer jets to air force: media

Dutch press ahead to cut Amsterdam airport flights

11 hospitalized as flight hits turbulence en route to Atlanta

France calls for minimum price on European flights

TRADE WARS
Tech's carbon footprint: can AI revolutionize responsibly?

Analog and digital: The best of both worlds in one energy-efficient system

A simpler way to connect quantum computers

DNA chips as storage media of the future: What challenges need to be overcome

TRADE WARS
BlackSky images complex evacuation operation during first days of 2023 Sudan conflict

Infospectrum expands Spire Global contract to enhance vessel-tracking capabilities

Sensing city night heat from space

Scientists zoom in on the Asian monsoon season using satellite data

TRADE WARS
Air pollution greatest global threat to human health, says benchmark study

Indonesia sanctions 11 industrial firms over Jakarta pollution spikes

Kids entitled to clean, healthy environment: UN committee

Russian teen eco-activists fight for future as risks mount

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.