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Africa’s Critical Minerals Boom Won’t Change Our Future Unless We Build Factories Not Just Mines
When the world talks about the clean-energy transition, Africa suddenly finds itself at the centre of the conversation. Not because we are the world’s largest emitters, we are not. And not because we...
The G20 Wants a Green Energy Future But What Does That Mean for Africa’s Gas Ambitions?
On the morning the G20 released its South Africa Declaration, a senior official in Abuja joked quietly to a colleague: “Let me guess, they want us to be green, but not too green; use gas, but not too...
Africa’s Solar Skills Crisis: Why the Continent’s Clean Energy Future Depends on the People We’re Leaving Behind
Not long ago, I stood near a primary school building in northern Nigeria. A technician was fastening a solar panel to the roof of one of the school buildings. The schoolyard buzzed with the laughter...
COP30 Launched a Just Transition Mechanism, But Will It Change Anything for African Workers?
COP30 introduced a new global Just Transition Mechanism, a framework meant to protect workers and communities as the world accelerates away from fossil fuels. It sounded momentous, the kind of policy...
The Lights Are Still Off: What COP30’s Promises Mean for the African Child
When negotiators at COP30 announced new climate-finance commitments in Belém, my mind went to the children I met earlier this year in a village outside Makurdi, Nigeria, six boys and girls bent over...
Why Africa Still Has Millions Without Electricity Despite Its Solar Boom
On the outskirts of a village in northern Kenya, the sun sets over a newly commissioned solar farm and a dozen new battery storage containers. Contractors toast the completion: “This is Africa’s...
Africa’s Skills Pipeline Is Broken: It’s Not Youth, It’s the System
When I spoke to a senior human-resources lead at a major solar-energy company early this year, I expected standard answers: “We need more graduates,” “We lack training,” “We need government...
Africa Is Adding Renewables at Record Speed. The Lights Still Aren’t On.
Africa is gaining clean-energy capacity at a pace unmatched in its modern history. From Morocco’s vast Noor solar complex to Kenya’s wind farms, South Africa’s rooftop boom, and Nigeria’s swelling...
Funding the Flip: Why Africa’s Clean Energy Transition Is Stuck, And How to Unblock It
The world is in the midst of the largest energy-investment boom in history. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), global clean-energy spending is expected to surpass USD 3.3 trillion in...
Africa’s Clean Energy Promise: Between Policy Progress and People’s Patience
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has released its World Energy Outlook 2025. After reading it, I was struck by one figure: 1 billion Africans still cook with firewood, charcoal, and animal dung....
Subsidies, Storage and Sovereignty: Africa’s Hidden Grid Challenge
At the COP30 roundtable in Belém, UN Secretary-General António Guterres issued a quiet but pointed warning: “The world will not achieve clean energy for all unless we invest massively in grids,...
The Price of Clean Energy: Why Africa Still Pays More for Sunlight Than Oil
At COP30 in Belém, amid speeches about green growth and net-zero futures, one statement is worth noting. “For much of the developing world, high debt, high risk and a high cost of capital make...