Africa’s Just Transition Into Green Energy

Standard Bank’s climate policy aims to reach net-zero carbon emissions for its new facilities by 2030, its existing operations by 2040, and its portfolio of financed emissions by 2050. Kenny Fihla, CEO of Standard Bank Corporate and Investment Banking, expands on this.

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November’s United Nations Climate Change Conference (Cop27) in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, placed the spotlight on the growing threat posed by climate change and the urgent need to ramp up investments in green energy solutions. Now, WEF shines a spotlight of its own on Africa’s Just Transition.

Energy prices have skyrocketed since early 2022, highlighting the strategic and moral dilemma facing Europe’s industrialized economies. Europe is now balancing its need for securing energy and growing its economy with its need to embark on a decades-long transition to greener fuels and greater energy independence.

African opportunity 

The need for Africa to follow a just transition to greener energy and advance the development of its people is imperative. The developed world has a significant head-start. Compare Germany and Uganda; according to the World Bank, GDP per capita in Germany was $46 208 in 2020, while for Uganda, a paltry $822. In the same year, German life expectancy at birth was 81.4, while in Uganda it was 63.7. In 2018, Germany emitted 8.22 metric tons of CO2 per person, while Uganda’s was 0.143 tons per person.