From commentary to case studies, James Mwangi shared a wealth of knowledge on rethinking Africa’s role in advancing climate change mitigation and resilience. It was equally refreshing to have been joined by Sue Szabo for an enlightening dialogue.
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CAP-A announces H.E. Professor Yemi Osinbajo SAN as the new Chair of the Board of Directors
The Climate Action Platform for Africa (CAP-A) warmly welcomes H.E. Prof Yemi Osinbajo SAN to the Board of Directors as Chair, with immediate effect. Prof. Osinbajo is the immediate past Vice President of Nigeria having served two four year terms from 2015.
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Climate change can make or break Africa
With “climate change” and “Africa”, the image that comes to mind most, is one of victimhood: Africa, barely contributed to causing climate changes, yet bears the brunt disproportionally, and has limited buffers to deal with the consequences. Though the above is true, we at the Climate Action Platform for Africa (CAP-A) are convinced this is only part of the story.
Africa has everything to not just a hapless climate victim, but be the world’s climate vanguard. The continent’s unique assets of massive untapped renewable energy potential, the world’s youngest and fastest growing workforce, and available land, nature and minerals, make it an ideal place to undertake the activities the world needs to avoid a climate catastrophe: manufacturing goods and services with no or low embedded emissions and removing carbon at scale. Its endowments, low unit costs and very low existing emissions enable Africa to be a very cost-competitive location for climate action.
Climate action in Africa is not just possible and potentially highly competitive, it is indispensable: the world needs Africa to be net negative to achieve net zero global ambitions by 2050. Conversely, Africa needs climate action as a driver for economic transformation and job creation at scale, driving stability and prosperity for all.
Like everywhere else in the world, the transition to a green economy does not happen out of its own accord. It needs concerted effort, identifying, quantifying, prioritising and realising the most viable opportunities for each community and location. At present, climate action in Africa does not receive sufficient attention – neither within the continent nor from (potential) global partners. CAP-A exists to change that and make scalable climate action in Africa a compelling and attractive proposition for all.
There are viable pathways that allow for Africa's assets to generate
economic value and livelihoods through climate action.
Africa is home to 3 key assets
These assets drive three viable and compelling climate action pathways for growth
Reframing Climate Action: Towards a more inclusive and sustainable future
Blue Ventures – Madagascar Replenishing marine resources and saving marine conservation challenges through Local Marine Management ventures.
Gorongosa National Park – Mozambique Investing in people to restore vast ecosystems, combat climate change and secure biodiversity. Conservation and climate action, climate resilient rural livelihoods and education and health.
Koko Networks – Kenya, Rwanda Cookstoves with renewable cooking fuel which are cleaner and cheaper than kerosene or charcoal, thanks to its use of a smart fuel system and revenue from carbon credits.
Reliance Compost – South Africa Converting green city waste to compost.
Sistema Bio – Kenya Converting farm waste to renewable energy and fertilizer. Using revenue from carbon credits to reduce the costs of systems to farmers.
SunCulture – Kenya Steady water supply for farming through solar powered irrigation systems. Using revenue from carbon credits to reduce the costs of systems to farmers.