Interview with Mohamed Adow of Energy Shift Africa

For a lot of elements of Africa, 2025 has been marked by excessive local weather occasions. Between the lethal floods that struck the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia, and the extreme drought that gripped Chad, international locations throughout the continent are being hit laborious by the consequences of local weather change. Many have additionally suffered the implications of a serious political shift: the return to energy of Donald Trump in the USA, adopted by a major lower in funding for well being applications and efforts to adapt to local weather change.

Oil has as soon as once more discovered favor with the world’s main financial energy, which Trump has, for the second time in as many phrases, pulled out from the Paris Settlement — underneath which international locations dedicated to lowering greenhouse gasoline emissions that drive local weather change, partially by embracing renewable vitality sources.

Then on Nov. 10, the COP30 U.N. local weather summit opened in Belém, Brazil. Among the many many delegates from Africa attending the gathering within the Amazon is Mohamed Adow, the founder and director of Energy Shift Africa. This Kenya-based assume tank was established in 2018 to mobilize local weather motion throughout Africa and promote local weather and vitality insurance policies that goal for zero-carbon economies. Adow can also be a member of the consortium Allied for Local weather Transformation by 2025 (ACT2025), which brings collectively consultants and leaders from climate-vulnerable international locations, working to drive better local weather ambition on the worldwide stage.

Adow spoke with Mongabay about his expectations from the summit from the angle of the vitality transition, and specifically the way it will translate on the bottom for African international locations.

Mongabay: What do you count on from COP30?

Mohamed Adow: Africa is residence to 18% of the worldwide inhabitants, and we account for lower than 4% of the worldwide emissions. We require the supply of the technique of implementation, i.e., local weather finance, clear know-how and capability constructing, in order that we’re capable of implement the local weather actions that Africa has pledged. We’re additionally this COP to agree on a simply transition framework that can permit us to organize our communities and our employees for a altering local weather.

The second factor that we’re searching for is the finalization of the World Purpose on Adaptation framework. We’re searching for formal political recognition underneath the COP to make sure Africa’s vulnerabilities are acknowledged, but in addition addressed coherently throughout all of the totally different negotiation agenda objects. We wish to see an vitality transition that permits the world to shift away from oil, gasoline and coal, that are liable for the majority of the emissions and local weather change.

Mongabay: The Paris local weather settlement was adopted 10 years in the past. What’s your evaluation of the implementation of the guarantees made again then?

Mohamed Adow: We’re on the crossroads. We’re a continent that’s residence to 600 million individuals with out electrical energy. We’re additionally a continent that’s extremely blessed with renewable vitality. And we haven’t been capable of appeal to adequate vitality financing to assist this continent [move away] from that [fossil fuel-based] vitality and change into a inexperienced chief. And, sadly, in case you take a look at vitality financing, because the adoption of the Paris Settlement in 2015, Africa has solely been capable of appeal to lower than 2% of complete renewable vitality investments. This creates an implementation hole, and we wish to deal with it by the COP in order that we can assist speed up the deployment of renewable vitality in Africa.

Mongabay: What are the priorities by way of the vitality transition for African international locations?

Mohamed Adow: We’ve 1 billion Africans missing entry to wash cooking. Once you take a look at sub-Saharan Africa, per-person electrical energy consumption is round 180 kilowatt-hours, in comparison with 13,000 kilowatt-hours in the USA. So there’s a gross inequality in vitality entry, and that requires a serious shift in Africa to scale up vitality entry.
What we wish to see is a brand new mannequin of vitality provision in Africa, the sort that may assist unlock Africa’s productive sectors, social providers that may assist energy our group wants, and can assist us notice the potential of renewable vitality. If you happen to take the instance of Kenya, our electrical energy grid is at present round 90% renewable, however we nonetheless have 1 / 4 of Kenyans with out electrical energy entry. It is a problem that must be addressed.

The alternatives we make about our vitality system are going to find out whether or not we’re capable of stay throughout the planetary limits. Two issues can occur: we will proceed to develop on a business-as-usual path the place we don’t deal with the restricted vitality entry problem, or we will lead from that vitality and change into a inexperienced chief and assist this continent ship sustainable vitality entry with out becoming a member of the league of the large polluters. And that can require honest finance, clear know-how switch, and capability constructing.

Mongabay: Kenya will get practically 90% of its electrical energy from renewable sources. By comparability, within the U.S., solely 20% of its energy provide comes from renewables. How can African international locations lead a clear vitality transition?

Mohamed Adow: Think about a world the place African international locations, that are the producers of transition minerals, mixture these sources and ship a inexperienced business that powers Africa’s wants after which exports the excess to the remainder of the world. Why ought to we export these scarce materials sources which can be important for renewable vitality technology and storage, once we can simply handle to generate long-term prosperity for Africans by including worth?

An Africa-led simply vitality transition will deal with assembly the wants for inexpensive, dependable, renewable vitality sources that may assist us obtain common entry for Africans after which energy regional industrialization whereas reaching the African and local weather objectives. Take the instance of the DRC [Democratic Republic of Congo]. The DRC is the most important producer of transition minerals, however the remainder of the world seems to be on the DRC as a spot the place they will supply low-cost, uncooked supplies for his or her industrialization. Then Africa needed to import these completed merchandise, largely utilizing overseas trade that we needed to have entry to.

We wish to acknowledge the transition minerals as important for decarbonization, but in addition for industrialization. And you’ll’t notice that aspiration if we proceed to export these transition minerals. The best way society and the economic system have been structured to assist reward an extractive course of is at present steered to favor the wealthy world. And that can’t assist meet Africa’s wants. So we have to train African management by calling on our international locations to shift to renewable vitality after which cooperate with one another. We wish to see a COP that advantages Africa by facilitating a inexperienced worth chain, which is centered across the producing international locations reasonably than these international locations which can be at present extracting and exporting [transition minerals] there.

Mongabay: How can actual progress on vitality transitions be made throughout COP30 negotiations?

Mohamed Adow: There’s a particular agenda merchandise referred to as the simply transition work program, the place that is going to be mentioned, and we’re trying to see concrete and particular actions that may assist us as a continent to make sure we ship vitality entry, we ship inexperienced industrialization, local weather adaptation, and on the identical time, create respectable jobs for Africans. A simply transition can also be a improvement transition. If we’re going to assist Africa handle that transition, we want a complete technique that enables us to draw adequate assist to have the ability to implement these actions.

And I don’t assume we will do this anymore with voluntary contributions. We have to design an vitality path primarily based on Africa’s individuals’s wants, but in addition the sort that helps to advance Africa’s vitality sovereignty. That requires clear coverage priorities that aren’t simply local weather, however are how we ship better well-being and prosperity for our individuals.

We’re seeing numerous African international locations eliminating pricey and polluting diesel turbines. In Nigeria, for instance, the financial savings from avoiding diesel gasoline can repay the price of a photo voltaic panel in simply six months.

Photo voltaic panels are at present being imported throughout the continent, and so they’re producing a superb quantity of vitality. And this isn’t nearly local weather, it’s additionally about improvement. Solar energy is bringing electrical energy to houses, colleges and clinics, and is giving individuals management over their vitality future.

Mongabay: The objective of holding international warming beneath 1.5°C (2.7°F) is underneath menace. What does that imply for COP30 and for Africa?

Mohamed Adow: We’re seeing an escalating impression, whether or not it’s floods, droughts or lack of livelihoods which can be pushed by greenhouse gasoline emissions that we didn’t create.

I believe now we have all of the sources; now we have all of the know-how. What we’re missing at present is a political will to assist us notice that vital aspiration, and we should struggle to safe it.

Banner picture: Kirstenbosch nationwide botanical gardens, South Africa. Picture by Rhett Butler / Mongabay.