Africa has no choice between economic growth and environmental protection: how the two can go hand in hand

Heathrow Airport in the United Kingdom currently consumes more energy than the entirety of the West African country Sierra Leone. Although Africa is responsible for less than 4% of all global greenhouse gas emissions, many of its countries face significant threats from climate change, including increased droughts, floods, waves heat and potential crop failures.


Climate change costs the continent between $5 billion and $7 billion a year, a figure expected to rise to $50 billion by 2030. Estimates suggest its impact could push 50 million Africans below the poverty line, while that 100 million are at risk of being displaced. At the same time, around 600 million people in Africa still lack access to energy, essential for economic development.


Addressing the twin imperatives of sustainable development – ​​meeting the needs of the present without negatively impacting the future – and economic growth in Africa is essential. This was a central theme of the first African Climate Summit, held in Nairobi last September. However, these challenges are generally seen as diametrically opposed. Often they are discussed in isolation. This conversation needs to change. We must recognize that sustainable development and economic growth are interdependent: one cannot occur without the other.


Based on my research on the role of multinational corporations in the development of emerging markets over the past decade, what is missing from the debates are answers to the question facing many material-rich African countries. firsts: are they using their natural resources for development and what the hell? the environment, or seek an alternative recognizing that sustainable development and economic growth are interdependent?


Africa’s economy relies heavily on the extraction of natural resources, including oil, gas and minerals such as copper, cobalt, gold and diamonds.


In fact, 45 African economies already rely on exports of raw materials, including fossil fuels. Yet they are under increasing pressure to turn their backs on this potentially lucrative source of income.


Rather than supporting simplistic arguments that all extractive engagement is bad, the question that really needs to be asked is how to extract resources while causing minimal harm to the environment.


Getting around simplistic answers


This is not unfair: people across Africa demand the same type of economic opportunities that those in the Global North already enjoy. But therein lies the problem. To achieve this, the most obvious solution for many African countries is to adopt the economic development model employed by today’s developed countries. This means exploiting the significant and relatively untapped natural resources that lie within their borders.


As former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo said during Africa Energy Week 2023:


Where is the justice when you used what (fossil fuels) was available to you, but we (Africans) cannot use it? You want to keep us in the usual position of underdevelopment. We refuse this!


The reality in many African countries is that the use of natural materials found within their borders is crucial to their continued economic development.


Many have argued that Africa can become a green industrial hub to harness its renewable energy resources and lead the charge towards decarbonization. But to achieve this technological transformation and build the necessary batteries, solar panels and electric vehicles, raw materials are needed.


Companies must find better ways to extract resources while causing minimal damage to the environment.


The good news is that this is already happening. Mining companies like Bill Gates-backed KoBold Metals are now using artificial intelligence to predict the location of deposits, minimizing the negative environmental effects of test drilling.


Companies are also exploring the potential of keyhole mining technology to reduce the need for surface mines, which have a serious environmental impact.


The challenge of context


A green revolution needs money, innovation and technology to succeed. It must also meet the unique needs of each country and even each individual. Simply put, launching a green revolution is costly and context-dependent.


Green technology has typically been designed, tested and implemented in developed countries.


Solar power works if your country has a reliable and extensive energy grid capable of storing and then efficiently distributing the energy generated. This is not so practical when applying it to a nation that has just emerged from a period of civil war and has a limited, damaged or non-existent energy grid.


Take the installation of solar street lights in Nigeria. The idea sounds great and uses technology that works elsewhere. However, this has proven ineffective in practice. This is not an isolated case.


A 2017 research paper revealed some of the common causes of failure of renewable energy initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa. The study analyzed 29 publicly funded projects in ten countries, ranging from electrification of public institutions and solar street lighting to rural microgrid electrification.


The paper reveals that common factors contributing to failure include political agendas, flaws in the project award process, insufficient stakeholder cooperation, problems in project planning and implementation, lack of effective maintenance and challenges related to public acceptance and inclusion. The last two points underline the importance of the local context in green projects.


Time and money


Large sustainable solutions like wind farms, public transport networks or geothermal power plants also fail when viewed from a more local perspective. In many developing countries, energy needs can be as localized and immediate as when a person goes to the forest to collect wood so they can prepare their evening meal. Megaprojects take time, which those currently needing energy simply don’t have.


Then there is the question of increasing external investment for these projects. The Nairobi Declaration, signed at the African Climate Summit in September 2023, calls for a six-fold increase in renewable energy capacity across the continent. Yet, according to a 2022 report from the Climate Policy Initiative, Africa has received only 12% of the funding it needs to address climate impacts. This is partly due to concerns about the risk of investing on the continent.


Engage the right stakeholders, in the right way


It is also important that “green” development benefits as many local stakeholders as possible. While governments are obviously expected to lead this debate, businesses must share this responsibility.


I’ve written before about how businesses can communicate better with different stakeholders. It is also essential that they have a good understanding of their different needs and the contexts in which stakeholders live.


Differences in how people obtain food, shelter and energy can be significant, even within the same country. One plan won’t necessarily work for everyone.


Too often, businesses are wrong in their assumptions about what stakeholders want and need to improve their lives.


Very few people in developing countries will buy an eco cooker because it is better for the environment. But they will buy it if it makes their life easier. The only way to understand people’s needs is to involve them in the process from the start. Companies must design products and develop sustainable solutions. But they must also be practical and meet specific needs.


Creating new pathways to sustainability


As countries around the world seek to continue their economic development, they must also deal with the growing impact of climate change.


Having a single model of sustainable economic development is not an option. It’s important to :


  • consider regional and local challenges

  • listen to the voices and needs of local stakeholders

  • accept that sustainable development means different things to different people.

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