Building Back Green and More Resilient

Background

More than half of global population growth between now and 2050 is expected to occur in Africa. The population of sub-Saharan Africa is projected to double to 2.5 billion by 2050 and continue growing to 4.5 billion by 2100. 

With the entry into force of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in May 2019, the continent has become the world’s largest free trade area of a 1.3 billion-person market. Roughly 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa lack access to electricity and about 625 million people rely on solid fuels for cooking with devastating health consequences. Although the continent currently contributes negligible greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to the global total at 3.48%, from population and pre-COVID GDP trends, the coming energy, water and food demands are likely to drive GHG growth significantly.

The continent is uniquely endowed with vast potential in renewables estimated at over 10 terawatts, a collective potential that exceeds its total energy demand two-to-fivefold. Thus, the imperative for Africa to bypass fossil-based energy systems to leapfrog to clean energy systems of the future while pursuing climate-smart resilience-enhancing agricultural and livelihoods options as it reboots its economy for recovery from COVID-19 devastation, beyond managing GHG growth and building resilience, is the more cost-effective option to meet basic energy, water, and food needs with substantial health and other social welfare gains.