The AfCFTA as a Gateway to Green Innovations and opportunities for entrepreneurs in Africa

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By Adebayo Abubakar

It is no longer news that the global environment is in a climate emergency, brought about by carbon emissions as a result of human [mostly, industrial] activities. The concentration of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the atmosphere has become an existential threat to the global environment, and by implication, to humanity as well. But, with a united voice, global stakeholders have identified and proclaimed, “going green”, as the only way to rescue the environment from the precipice. There is an urgent need for the world to cultivate the habit of using renewable energies, and of embracing “green practices” that will not only keep the environment safe, but also help it recover what it has lost to the progressive degradation over decades.

Africa is one of the least industrialised continents of the world and is, therefore, responsible for a small fraction of the global carbon emission, as opposed to the heavily industrialised countries of the northern hemisphere, but it is not immune against the consequences of environmental degradation, caused by the industries in countries in Europe and North America. It was therefore a sigh of relief for the people of the continent, when the African Union (AU) launched the AU Green Recovery Action Plan (2021-2027), aimed at reversing [recovering] the losses. According to the Global Centre on Adaptation (GCA), the Action Plan aims to galvanise action around the following five priority areas:

  1. Climate finance
  2. Renewable energy, energy efficiency, and national Just Transition programs
  3. Nature-based solutions and focus on biodiversity
  4. Resilient agriculture
  5. Green and resilient cities.

These form part of the strategies for the actualisation of Agenda 2063 of the AU. It will only be logical for reasons that border on economic strategy, for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to take advantage of the terms of the agreement that lower international barriers within the continent to facilitate free flow of ideas, technology, alongside those of goods and funds, to promote “green practice” in entrepreneurship. This, the AfCFTA can do, by enhancing cross-fertilisation of ideas across the continent, between countries that are trailblazers in the area of green practices like Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Morocco, South Africa, Rwanda, Cape Verde Island, and Djibouti (according to a UN report) and those who are just trying to key into the AU Green Recovery Action Plan (AUGRAP), for the purpose of achieving a shared economic prosperity in Africa, among her people. It therefore feels right to note that the Secretary-General of the AfCFTA, His Excellency Wamkele Keabetswe Mene, in 2021 attended the launch of Green Energy Africa Summit at an exclusive ministerial and VIP symposium. that shows that the AfCFTA is aware of what is at stake, and is ready to contribute its quota towards global efforts aimed at recovering the environment from the impacts of decades of cumulative environmental degradation.

 Apart from creating markets for existing entrepreneurs in green practices like AWAWO [a Malawian firm], the AfCFTA can also help firms reduce the cost of operation in the face of the skyrocketing prices of crude oil at the global market such as a Nigerian FM radio station – Sobi FM, which just switched to using solar energy to power its equipment. The AfCFTA can encourage bigger businesses across the continent who are involved in heavy industrial activities to embrace green practices. This would amount to ‘killing two birds with one stone’, as it will not only reduce their cost of production, as green practices are most often cost-effective, but also fulfill its obligation as a responsible critical stakeholder in the struggle to save the environment.
 

It is therefore quite encouraging to note that some business concerns have started embracing renewable energies like solar energy to power their equipment and activities, as well as other green practices. We have entrepreneurs who are investing in renewable energy technologies which are in line with the mission and vision of the  (United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of Parties to UNFCCC), as being operationalised by the Kyoto protocol, and especially, the forthcoming COP28 slated for the United Arab Emirates later in the year. It is at this forum where the first Global Stocktake on the implementation of the Paris Agreement is expected to conclude. The priorities of COP28 cut across mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage, climate finance, and process innovation as outlined by Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Special Envoy for Climate Change, and COP28 UAE President-Designate, according to Zawya report.

This has underscored the fact that ensuring a safer global climate is a very big business that should arrest the attention of institutions like the AfCFTA and the AU. The AfCFTA being a trade agreement that aims to boost economic integration and development in Africa is also aimed at helping African businesses innovate and adopt new thinking such as green practices that can reduce the impact of their industrial activities on the environment and contribute to the fight against climate change.

The AfCFTA can therefore create opportunities for green innovation and entrepreneurship in the following ways:

  • By lowering trade barriers and increasing market access. It can also facilitate diffusion of environmental goods and services such as renewable energy technologies, waste management solutions, and eco-friendly products.
  • By fostering regional cooperation and knowledge sharing: the AfCFTA can enable African businesses to learn from each other by sharing best practices, exchanging ideas, and collaborating on green projects.
  • By creating opportunities for value addition and diversification. The AfCFTA can encourage African businesses to move away from reliance on extractive and commodity-based sectors, and invest in green industries and renewable resource-based sectors.
  • By enhancing Africa’s voice and influence in global trade negotiations, the AfCFTA can help African businesses advocate for fair and favourable trade rules that support their green transition and protect their interests.

The AfCFTA can thus serve as a catalyst for Africa’s green transformation and de-carbonization, while also creating economic and social benefits for African businesses and consumers. Africa, doing its bit in recovering the global environment from impacts of carbonization, might not be enough if industrialised nations in the West responsible for most carbon emissions through heavy industrial activities fail, or refuse to do their part. With most countries in Europe and America setting deadlines to phase out vehicles running on fuel, and embracing electric cars, the future looks bright for the environment. African countries, therefore, cannot afford not to honour their own part of agreement. If Africa can do as stated above, it will all end in shared prosperity for the continent, culminating in realisation of Agenda 2063.

Adebayo Abubakar is a Nigerian journalist. You can reach him via email: marxbayour@gmail.com

Twitter – @marxbayour Facebook – Marx Bayour

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