Africa and Europe discuss the green transition and investment

The Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the European Investment Bank are organising a month of talks between African and European countries on the green transition and green investment.

The first of 25 conferences, entitled Green Talks, took place yesterday in virtual format from the Portuguese Embassy in Dakar, paving the way for the High-Level EU-Africa Green Investment Forum in Lisbon on 23 April. Until then, the talks will be hosted from other European and African capitals.

The aim of the forum is to mobilise projects, partnerships and existing financial resources towards growth in Africa, in the context of sustainable development, the green transition and investment and the post-pandemic recovery.

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The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Augusto Santos Silva, pointed out that seven of the ten countries in the world most affected by climate change are in Africa — one of them being Mozambique — but that the African continent is responsible for less than 5% of the world total of greenhouse gas emissions and that it has an abundance of renewable energy sources.

“We therefore have a justice theme and a rationality theme”, the minister said, arguing that we must reinforce cooperation between the EU and Africa, “not just simply by talking about it, but based on concrete actions that are well-designed and adequately funded”.

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The Vice-President of the European Investment Bank, Ricardo Mourinho Félix, stressed that the bank “has a unique track record of supporting high-impact investment across Europe and in Africa”, and that the participation of the bank in these Green Talks and in the forum is aimed at “fostering a mutually beneficial sharing” of experiences aimed at speeding up the use of clean energy and responses to climate change.