Author: Adewale Kupoluyi
US President, Joe Biden at COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh. The event has been heralded as “Africa’s COP”.A piece of legislation championed by US President Joe Biden could be a game-changer for clean energy supply chains – and, by association, African economies. Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act is a climate law aimed at cutting emissions by driving clean technology manufacturing. Although the Act, which Biden signed into law in August, is targeted at Americans, the knock-on effect for wind, solar, battery and other green technologies will be good news for economies across the African continent. Africa needs more than US$2 trillion of investment…
Climate technology programme for Africa launched at COP27.A new programme to help African states plan and scale new decarbonisation solutions and blunt the devastating effects of climate change has been launched at COP27. The programme will propel new capital flow in climate tech to help nations harness and build renewable energy systems to power their economies. Senior officials from several governments, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), launched the initiative that runs until 2027. The Technology Executive Committee (TEC) and Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) – the two bodies of the Technology Mechanism under…
Jolis Nduwimana making Banana bags in Burundi.Jolis Nduwimana was working as a luggage porter in 2018 when the Government of Burundi issued a decree prohibiting importing, manufacturing, using, and commercialising plastic bags in the country. This announcement left almost all businesses in Burundi in limbo. At that time, the market did not have any alternatives. “Working as a luggage carrier was tough, and I had little hope for a bright future. However, I perceived this challenge as an opportunity to change the status quo and change my career, even though it was difficult to start off as I had no money…
Kenyan President, William Ruto addressing the COP 27 conference in Egypt. Green was the colour of the day as heads of state from Kenya, Ghana and Zambia laid out strong climate-related commitments at what’s been termed “Africa’s COP” in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Kenyan President Dr William Ruto was among those hosted by UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the launch of the Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnership. Ruto reaffirmed his country’s commitment to accelerating reafforestation, telling delegates: “We remain committed to being in the frontline in sustainable land use and the conservation, protection, management and restoration of forests”. Kenya and the…
Gazi conservation group planting mangrove tree seedlings. Residents of Gazi in Kwale County, Kenya, are transforming their livelihoods and environment by restoring the once-depleted mangrove forests. “We are making more money from planting trees than we used to make from cutting trees,” Jilo Baya, a community member, tells us. Located 50 kilometres south of Kenya’s coastal city of Mombasa, the Gazi community is on a mission to restore an extensive mangrove forest once threatened by them. So far, they have restored 615 hectares. The dense mangrove forest is a blue-carbon ecosystem, which means that it captures and stores vast amounts of…
