Green Growth Africa, a UNEP-accredited non-governmental organisation, has called on Nigeria and other African countries to prioritise the development of green value chains for minerals, particularly lithium, which is used to make batteries that power electric vehicles in other to reduce youth unemployment
Executive director of the NGO, Dr. Adedoyin Adeleke, who made this caIl, said Africa has much to gain by tapping into the green transition, as the world is shifting away from fossil fuel use.
The opportunities presented by the global effort to fight climate change includes the potential for Africa to tap into the $10.3 trillion net zero economy by 2050.
Speaking at a press briefing to commemorate the 2023 International Youth Day via Zoom, Adeleke said the continent has abundant lithium reserves, and the emerging battery industry is critical to the expanding transport and energy industries, which are two of the highest producers of carbon emissions in the world.
Nigeria’s youth unemployment rate reached 53 per cent in 2022, the highest in the world, and with Africa having the youngest population in the world, with more than 60 per cent of its population under the age of 25, this demographic is seen to present a tremendous opportunity for concrete sustainable socio-economic development on the continent.
Dr. Adeleke highlighted the theme of the day, “Green Skills for Youth: Towards a Sustainable World,” and emphasised the need to arm African youths with green skills to leverage their enthusiasm, resilience, and exploratory spirit.
He noted the challenges facing African youth, including poverty, deficits in education, and unemployment, and how the climate crisis is compounding these challenges.
Adeleke called on African policymakers to find innovative ways to connect public, private, and concessional finance to mobilize resources for multidimensional and multi-sectoral strategic interventions for green growth.
The executive director also called on developed nations to redeem their $100billion pledges for the Climate Fund and other financial pledges made to the Adaptation Fund and the recent loss and damage fund.
He further emphasised the need for Africa to develop new courses and programmes that will prepare the youth to be game-changers in the fight against climate change in ways that present social and economic advantage to Africa.
Green Growth Africa has empowered more than 5,000 youth in 26 African countries on green innovation and technologies, many of which have attracted awards from government, private sector, and NGOs in the USA, the UK, Japan, Ghana, and Cameroon.
Adeleke said, “On this basis, we call on the developed nations to redeem their $100 billion dollar pledge for the Climate Fund agreed in COP21, financial pledges made to the Adaptation Fund in COP26, and the recent loss and damage fund agreed to at COP27.”
He insisted that the funds should be mobilised for multidimensional and multi-sectoral strategic
interventions for green growth.
He noted that African youth need to acquire green skills and be supported to set up middle and large scale green enterprises that advance social and economic advantage.
He charged African youths to mine the high lithium reserves in the continent for batteries used for electric vehicles.
The expert urged the youths to take advantage of global climate change to make huge economic gains.
He also challenged them to supply quality labour from their huge population to the international labour market.
He said despite the challenges of climate change, Africa needs to aggressively arm its youth with Green Skills to leverage their enthusiasm, resilience, and exploratory spirit.
Rolling out the opportunities, he said, “On the other hand, we are well-positioned to lead the global green transition by leveraging our huge resources: from our rich mineral reserves of Lithium used to make batteries that power electric vehicles, to our abundant human resources embodied in our youth that can supply quality labour not just to the continent but to other regions across the globe.
“Africa needs to aggressively arm its youth with Green Skills to leverage their enthusiasm, resilience, and exploratory spirit. This is the path to develop new medium and large green industries in Africa.”
Continuing, he said there is no reason Africa cannot mine, refine and produce batteries from its huge lithium and other mineral resources to meet the bolstering electric vehicle demand around the world.
According to him, the emerging battery industry is critical to the geometrically expanding transport and energy industries which are two highest producers of carbon emission in the world.
He noted that with African taking global leadership in the evolving battery industry for which it has huge potential, Africa will gain massive economic diversification, youth empowerment and employment, and help the world supply critical products to fight climate change in two critically carbon emitting sectors – transport and energy.
He wondered, “How great a player Africa could be in the fight against climate change?”
The expert insisted that Africa cannot afford to depend on other nations for green technologies.
According to him, “We must develop here in the soil of Africa globally competitive green technologies if climate action must yield social and economic gain on the continent.”
He revealed that consequently, the Green Growth Africa has empowered more than 5,000 youth in 26 African countries on green innovation and technologies, many of which have attracted awards from the government, private sector and NGOs in USA, United Kingdom, Japan, Ghana and Cameroon.
He added that “We were also invited by the United States White House to participate in the U.S-Africa Leaders Summit in 2022.”
He said the organisation acknowledged the actors who have been advancing green skills in Africa.
He however urged them to scale it up only at organisational levels but at a regional level.
He also urged African policymakers to find innovative ways to connect public, private, and concessional finance, necessitating collaboration between donors, private investors, development finance institutions, MDBs, and international financial organisations.
He revealed that by funding capital-intensive adaptation projects, developed countries can productively, effectively, and efficiently partner with African nations in developing green growth solutions that not only benefit Africa but also significantly support
the developed nations.
According to him, decarbonisation is not counter development. Climate change, he said, does only offer crisis but also offer critical and multidimensional opportunities
Adeleke said Africa needs to leverage high demographic, enthusiasm, resilience, and exploratory spirit of the African youth to harness and exploit these climate opportunities
He further explained that harnessing these opportunities require that the youth be armed with green skills and action competences to leverage their creativity to innovate and chart new courses for climate action that does not only reduce carbon emissions but also advance social and economic capital.
African educational systems, he said, require major overhaul with the new development thinking to develop new courses and programmes that will prepare the youth to be game changers in the fight against climate change in ways that present social and economic advantage to Africa. In this light, new unconventional
training institutes need to be established to meet new unconventional capacity building needs.
He urged the government, private sector, multilateral, international and development organisations including civil society to work individually and together to mobilise financial resources towards green skills for the
youth.
The expert said,.”Lastly, we call on the African youth to mobilise all our potential to make Africa gain global leadership in the fight against climate change, not as a mere environmental action but as a development catalytic
action to advance social and economic development on the continent.
“Taking lessons from Europe and North America among other regions that have leveraged the opportunities presented by previous development era, it is time for Africa to leverage the global effort to fight climate change
to leapfrog our development catching up process.”
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