Germany Pledges €4B for Climate Action in Africa
During the G20 Compact with Africa Conference (#CWA2023) held in Berlin on 20 November 2023, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reiterated the pledge of EUR 4 billion to finance green projects in Africa for the period up to 2030. Initiated by Germany in 2017, the G20 Compact with Africa (#G20CA) is a platform for closer coordination between #G20 and Africa; the theme for this year is “Strengthening multilateral cooperation and working on a rules-based, fair, international economic and financial system.”
So far, thirteen African countries have joined the Compact with G20, namely, 1) Benin, 2) Burkina Faso, 3) Cote d’Ivoire, 4) Democratic Republic of Congo, 5) Egypt, 6) Ethiopia, 7) Ghana, 8) Guinea, 9) Morocco, 10) Rwanda, 11) Senegal, 12) Togo and 13) Tunisia.
Chancellor Scholz made it a point to again express a warm welcome to the #AU as a permanent member of the #G20. Despite its few years of existence, the Compact has garnered much interest, as can be gauged from the nearly 800 delegates who have signed up and checked in for the event.
It is worth noting that the President of the Union of the Comoros and Chair of the African Union Azali Assoumani, Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu, Senegal’s President Macky Sall, Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema, Cote d’Ivoire’s President Alassane Ouattara, Kenya’s William Ruto, Togo’s President Faure Gnassingbe and France’s President Emmanuel Macron were in attendance. In addition, the Chairperson of the AC Moussa Faki Mahamat, the President of the EC Ursula von der Leyen, Germany’s Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Svenja Schulze, WB President Ajay Banga, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva were also present.
For Germany — which boasts a strong auto industry with world-renowned brands such as Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche and Volkswagen — closer cooperation with Africa is a must to secure access to certain #CriticalMinerals essential to the #GreenTransition. Furthermore, Chancellor Scholz gave the guarantee that if Africa can produce Green Hydrogen (#GH2), then Germany is ready to buy. As a matter of fact, Germany is partnering with Namibia to build a Green Hydrogen plant.
“This [initiative] creates jobs and prosperity in these countries. And the German industry gets reliable suppliers … Africa is our partner of choice when it comes to intensifying our economic relations and moving towards a carbon-neutral future together.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
The broad aim of the Compact is to promote socio-economic development in Africa by boosting trade and investment. In that regard, one of the key areas of action is to improve the Ease of Doing Business (#EDB) and make the countries more attractive for #FDI.
In resonance with Chancellor Scholz, African Commission (AC) Chairperson Moussa Faki stated that the AU is aware of certain shortcomings in some African countries in terms of the business climate and is thus working hard to nurture a better investment environment.
“Improving governance, that’s our responsibility, and therefore this shared vision could allow, I’m certain of it, for a large capital that could be invested in the continent.”
Africa Commisision President Moussa Faki
On his part, the President of the AfDB Akinwumi Adesina highlighted the work of his #MDB in accompanying projects up to the bankable stage to render them investment-ready. In line with current global trends, the AfDB is prioritizing green projects which contribute towards achieving the #NetZero objective.
