Tulani Ngwenya
Pretoria, South Africa – At the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28), Kenya’s President William Ruto, in collaboration with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), orchestrated a groundbreaking initiative to accelerate Africa’s green industrialization. African heads of state and other prominent individuals attended the high-profile launch, which represents a major step towards promoting sustainable economic growth and reducing the effects of climate change throughout the continent.
The Heads of State for Angola, Burundi, Djibouti, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, and Zambia, along with COP28 President Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for Egypt Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, and principals from leading green developers and institutions, were among the distinguished participants at the event.
President Ruto, emphasising the urgency and importance of the Africa Green Industrialization Initiative, outlined its objectives to accelerate and scale green industries, promote climate mitigation and adaptation, and catalyse economic green growth across Africa. He emphasised that the initiative is a concrete step towards realising the Nairobi Declaration by activating private sector-led scaling-up of green industrial clusters.
African leaders unequivocally embraced the initiative as the definitive pathway for their nations’ development. Discussions centred around plans to activate end-to-end socioeconomic transformation through the rapid growth of green industrial clusters, emphasising the vital role of regional and global export markets for value-added green products and technologies.
Macky Sall, President of Senegal, expressed, “We are forging a green pathway for Africa. Through strategic collaborations with industrial and energy developers across the continent, we have set in motion a virtuous cycle, fostering economic growth and sustainable job creation.”
The event showcased the substantial progress of the USD 4.5 billion Africa Green Investment Initiative, spearheaded by the UAE’s Masdar, AMEA Power, Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, and Etihad Credit Insurance, with Africa50 as the strategic partner. This initiative has already allocated nearly USD 2.6 billion for green energy projects in 8 countries, adding about 1.8 GW of clean power to the African grid.
Several ambitious announcements were made during the event, including Masdar’s plans for a 150 MW solar power plant in southern Angola, AMEA Power’s announcement of a 300 MW onshore wind power project in Ethiopia, and Africa50’s announcement of three projects in Mozambique totaling 260 MW of clean power.
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The COP28 President, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, praised the initiative as an opportunity to elevate the ambition of the COP28 Presidency’s Clean Energy programme. He underlined that the lack of “action” rather than a lack of resources is the real problem facing the African continent.
In their call to action, COP28 President and President Ruto urged more countries and partners to join the two initiatives, laying the foundation for sustainable growth at the heart of Africa’s economic future. The initiative builds upon the success of the UAE’s existing USD 4.5 billion Africa Green Investment Initiative, aiming to finance 15 GW of renewable energy capacity in Africa and unlock catalytic investments in Africa’s green industrialization.