UAE Pledges $4.5bn in Clean Energy Investments in Africa, IEA, AfDB to Launch Report on Financing

.African CSOs demand repayment of climate debt

Bennett Oghifo

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) yesterday pledged $4.5bn in clean energy investments in Africa, just as the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) are set to launch a joint report on Financing Clean Energy in Africa today, 6 September on the sidelines of the 3-day Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi, Kenya. 

The $4.5 billion investment pledge was announced by Sultan al-Jaber, head of the UAE’s national oil company ADNOC and government-owned renewable energy company Masdar. 

Sultan Al-Jaber, who is also president of the COP28 climate summit that will hold later this year, said the investment would “jumpstart a pipeline of bankable clean energy projects in this very important continent”, adding that a consortium, including Masdar, would help develop 15 gigawatts of clean power by 2030.

At the Summit’s opening ceremony, the President of Kenya, William Ruto said, “Africa holds the key to accelerating decarbonisation of the global economy. We are not just a continent rich in resources. We are a powerhouse of untapped potential, eager to engage and fairly compete in the global markets.”

Kenya’s President William Ruto is expected to give a welcome address at the launch. Dr Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, and Dr Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank, will launch the report.

Meanwhile, over 500 African civil society organisations have issued seven demands on their governments and wealthy nations at the African Climate Summit. 

“The African People are demanding justice, decolonisation of the continent’s economic systems and repayment of climate debt,” the CSOs said in a statement.

The Joint Report on Financing Clean Energy in Africa aims to inspire capital providers, multilateral development banks, development finance institutions, philanthropies and governments to amplify and replicate successful clean energy projects across the continent. This collective action will deliver a multiplier effect and support a cycle of change in the financing landscape, contributing to achievement of universal energy access (SDG7) in Africa.

According to the statement, “The report draws on African Development Bank case studies from across the continent to highlight viable solutions that contribute to scaling up energy investment and to achievement of universal access to modern energy, as well as climate-related and sustainable development goals.”

Representatives of development partners, capital providers and project developers will present key findings of the report during an interactive panel discussion following the launch. 

This year’s Africa Climate Week (ACW 2023) is being held in Nairobi, Kenya, from 4-6 September 2023. It will be organised alongside the Africa Climate Action Summit. Both events will be hosted by the Government of Kenya. ACW 2023 coincides with the African Climate Action Summit. Its purpose is to engage with various stakeholders and empower them to promote climate action across different nations, communities, and economies. The African Development Bank is a founding member of the Nairobi Framework Partnership (NFP), a regional partner of the Africa Climate Week and annually contributes toward both the side events and the logistics of ACW2023.  

The Regional Climate Weeks have been recognised as a platform for governments and stakeholders to strengthen credible and durable response to climate change.

Four Regional Climate Weeks will be held this year to build momentum ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference COP28 in Dubai and the conclusion of the first global stocktake, designed to chart the way for fulfilling the Paris Agreement’s key goals.

The People’s Climate Summit Unveils Urgent Demands for Justice, Decolonisation, and Survival for 900 million Africans 

More than 500 African civil society organisations have issued seven hard-hitting demands on their governments and wealthy nations at the African Climate Summit.

In their seven-point demand, the CSOs stated that “The African People are demanding for justice, decolonisation of the continent’s economic systems and repayment of climate debt. They are also demanding an end to energy capture, an immediate stop to fossil fuel projects and rejection of false solutions in a move that is set to put the plight of over 900 million people in the global spotlight.” The seven demands highlighted include: Decolonise the Economy and Development; Repay Climate Debt and Deliver the Money; No False Solutions; Build Global Solidarity, Peace & Justice; No new fossil fuels; New commitments for international cooperation; End Energy Agency Capture, and Energy System Capture. 

The group said, “To raise awareness on the challenges Africa is facing with climate change, The Real Africa People’s Climate Summit has organised a march on 4th September 2023 in Nairobi which brings together diverse stakeholders from various struggles and movements across Africa.” 

Speaking on behalf of the Real Africa People’s Climate Summit, Hardi Yakubu, from Africans Rising stated that Africans were tired of leaders and governments paying endless lip service to Africa on the impact of climate change on its people. 

“We demand for a decolonisation of Africa’s economy and development agenda, a repayment of climate debt and delivery of much-needed money to Africa for Climate Adaptation and losses and damages, as well as real solutions to this gripping problem the continent faces,” Yakubu said. 

Statistics show that Africa has been thrust into a never-ending cycle of poverty, hunger, undue exposure to climate-induced disasters, and ever-dwindling investment in adaptation and mitigation measures due to climate change. 

“It is a serious indictment on world leaders and corporations that African people continue to disproportionately experience the devastating impacts of climate change for no fault of their own,” said Lorraine Chiponda from the Africa Movements Building Space.  

Between 600-900 million people are facing systemic food and water shortages, debilitating poverty, and lack of access to energy or clean energy, forcing them to escape from their homes and migrate from their countries due to climate change. 

Non-African led solutions to tackling climate change halfway through the implementation of sustainable development goals (SDGs) – and 10 years since the launch of Africa’s development blueprint – Agenda 2063 – have sparked major concerns among climate stakeholders on the continent. Further, climate induced disasters are increasing both the cost of borrowing and exacerbating the risk of debt crises. Most countries have no option other than borrowing to deal with the recovery and reconstruction costs whenever disasters hit.”  

Dean Bhebhe from the Don’t Gas Africa Campaign noted that public services such as education and healthcare are chronically underfunded as unsustainable debt drives austerity.  “Unsustainable debt levels that many countries face today also mean less fiscal space and to invest in adaptation and mitigation as well as address losses and damages already being experienced.” By putting African people in the driving seat of the climate and development action agenda, the Real Africa People’s Climate Summit believe this is an opportunity to centre people’s voices, needs, well-being and the earth’s welfare in the climate change action and development discourse. 

Ikal Angelei from Friends of Lake Turkana stated that, “on 4 September we raise our voices for truth and justice. We March for the lives of African Peoples.” 

Joab Okanda from Christian Aid stated that, “Amid the spin and rhetoric on offer this week at the Africa Climate Summit, there is no escaping the hard reality: climate change is tearing us all apart and real solutions lie with communities on the frontline of the climate crisis. Clearly, African clear leaders face a clear choice. Maimoni Ubrei-Joe of Friends of the Earth Africa and Environmental Rights Action who will be joining the March in Nairobi, says this is not a time to project a smokescreen in the form of geoengineering, carbon markets and Carbon capture and sequestration CCS to shield the real solutions of leaving the oil and gas in the ground. This is time for our African leaders to take concrete people led and centered actions towards our renewable energy future for the African people.

They can stay on the path of dangerous destructions advanced by corporates and western consultancies, where structural traps continue to be laid against Africa’s development. Or they can choose the path of the people marching on the streets of Nairobi for a renewed climate and development vision for African people’s dignity. 

Africa is ready to rise but only once government leaders have the courage to stop the capture by the fossil fuel industry and foreign interests of our government agencies, processes, and energy systems to serve their interest and not the interests of African people.

The Real Africa People’s Climate Summit is a key part for the upcoming wave of global mobilisations and will include the March to #EndFossilFuels fast, fast, forever in New York City on 17th September 2023 as world leaders attend the United Nations Secretary General’s Climate Ambition Summit.