Dieci anni fa, una folla di sud sudanesi in festa salutava l’indipendenza del suo nuovo stato: uno stato in cui non sarebbero mai più stati considerati cittadini di serie B, come sotto il governo di Khartoum, e avrebbero invece potuto prendere in mano le sorti del proprio destino politico ed economico.
Badly affected by the consequences of climate change, sub-Saharan Africa is now facing a severe post-Covid economic crisis, having experienced its first recession in twenty-five years. The climate and socio-economic emergencies collectively represent serious challenges for African countries, which must be addressed by local governments as policy priorities.
Europe and Africa are strategic partners and their relations are built on a comprehensive set of diplomatic, trade, and financial instruments. In the field of the green transition, the EU-Africa partnership is characterized by a high degree of complementarity. Cooperation over renewable energy best exemplifies this. Africa needs the support of the EU both in terms of technical and financial assistance to unlock its renewable energy potential and address its lack of energy access, which remains the main obstacle in the path towards sustainable growth.
The global climate architecture has a significant impact on future geoeconomic and geopolitical trajectories, largely dominated by the interests of advanced economies. The European Union (EU)’s Green Deal is illustrative of this. Countries must develop foreign and trade relations to claim a stake in the investment surge in decarbonised technology innovation and infrastructure. If not, they risk being left behind.
While COVID-19 has presented the world with numerous challenges, it has also generated a conversation about how to reboot the global economy in its aftermath, and how to do so in a sustainable way. It has also highlighted the importance of preparing properly for risks of all kinds and the need for broader societal cooperation on achieving medium- and long-term goals.
The future for Africa will be urban, but will it also be green? Answering this question is of paramount importance, as rapid African urban growth has had – and will have – a dramatic impact on the environment. The outward expansion of African urban settlements has increased the pressure on natural resources, fostering loss of biodiversity and the depletion of green spaces and exacerbating the consequences of climate change.
Africa is endowed with abundant renewable energies. The continent has the world’s richest solar resources due to its high irradiation. It also benefits from crucial wind potential – especially in North and East Africa – and hydropower, which currently make up two of its main renewable sources due to its major river basins. Moreover, geothermal resources can be found throughout Africa, although the bulk of the potential is concentrated in the East Africa Rift System.
If sub-Saharan Africa followed the same model of economic development as the rest of the world, focused on the growth of carbon intensive industries, cities and infrastructures, it would seal the planet's climate future. Africa’s emissions today are among the lowest per capita in the world: 0.8 tons/capita.
As the world scrambles to avert climate disaster, momentum towards a green energy transition is growing. Countries that have relied on fossil fuels to power their homes and economies for more than a century are investing in a new kind of future: one where access to clean technologies gives an economic advantage to those that deploy them first. Build back better – or build back greener – is about changing the paradigm in a world that is already disrupted.
Climate change is a quintessentially global problem which, to be properly addressed, requires a collective solution with the collaboration and commitment of all countries at all levels of government (local, regional, and international). However, this does not imply that all regions around the world are equally affected by this phenomenon. Africa, for example, is among the regions that are most vulnerable to the adverse effects of global warming and climate change.
Oggi, 21 giugno, si svolgerà in Etiopia la tornata elettorale per il rinnovo delle assemblee federali e regionali e delle principali municipalità. Lo scrutinio non coprirà l’intero territorio nazionale: nel Tigrai e in parte dell’Oromia, del Benishangul e nel sud l’esecutivo ha disposto il rinvio del voto a data da destinarsi, complice il perdurare dei conflitti e le difficoltà nell’assicurare la registrazione degli elettori.