AfDB Partnerships Forum Towards Green Growth in Africa: Sharing initial perspectives from AfDB’s evolving work Hela Cheikhrouhou, Director -Energy, Environment.

AfDB Partnerships Forum

Towards Green Growth in Africa:Sharing initial perspectives from AfDB’s evolving work

Hela Cheikhrouhou,Director -Energy, Environment and Climate Change

Department (ONEC)African Development Bank

Structure of Presentation_______________________________________

oThe rationale for Green GrowthoEmerging Strategic ThinkingoOpportunities for Partnerships and Collaboration

Towards a Definition of Green Growth

In a first working definition, Green Growth is framed as a transformative development model for enabling sustainable growth and creating prosperity by taking a holistic approach to development, which:• values human, social and natural capital, •efficiently and sustainably uses ecosystem goods and services, and:• builds resilience in a changing world, where countries, industries and people are increasingly interconnected. (Draft working definition, March 2012 )

I. The rationale for Green Growth

Green Growth: Adapting to changing realities for development

Existing and Emerging Challenges to Africa’s Development

Rapid Population Growth Urbanization Globalization , economic volatility

and shifting consumption patterns* Uneven economic growth Lack of energy access Lack of access to markets Lack of education Air and water pollution Land degradation * Depletion of natural resources * Disaster Risk and Climate change *

• Existing and Emerging Challenges to Africa’s Development• • •

• [Insert Picture]

* Discussed in greater detail in presentation

Issue: Population Growth and Demographic Change

Population Growth has implications for:• Food Security• Consumption patterns• Natural Resource Use• Land• Urban and Rural Infrastructure• Public services

Population growth needs to be turned into an advantage (“demographic dividend”) through forward looking education, skills development and economic diversification

Africa’s total population is projected to increase from 1 billion to about 1.6 billion by 2030. The trend is accompanied by an increase in working-age and urban populations.Source: AfDB, Adapted from United Nations Economic & Social Affairs, Population Division

Issue: Climate Change

Mitigation• Low aggregate/per capita emissions, but:• Avoiding dangerous levels of global warming

requires global action (with differentiated responsibilities)

Development/growth needs to be decoupled from greenhouse gas emissions

Mitigation opportunities for Africa: RE Potential, Carbon Sequestration in Forestry and Agriculture Sectors

Adaptation• Africa is already insufficiently adapted to current climatic hazards, e.g. windstorms

(cyclones), floods, droughts, resulting in disaster and famines• Among most vulnerable regions to climate change due heavy natural resource

dependency of livelihoods and economic sectors and limited adaptive capacity• Sensitive sectors include agriculture (food security), urban (disaster risk), health

(water and vector borne diseases) Climate Risk Management is essential to Green Growth and Sustainable

Development

Most of Africa’s crops will likely be adversely affected by climate change: Projections for 2045-65 relative to 1961-2000(Source: Schlenker and Lobell 2009)

Issue: Land Degradation

Land degradation:• …undermines land productivity

and poses a risk to food security• …impacts on the quality of

ecosystem services• …deforestation and soil

degradation contribute to climate change

Green Growth requires integrative approaches to land-use, focused on increasing productivity and food-security, while minimizing degradation of Africa’s natural assets

• [Map to be inserted]

Land degradation affects large parts of Africa.

Issue: Economic resilience in a globalized world

• Globalization provides new opportunities, but also creates new risks through increasing inter-dependence

Increasing resilience to exogenous economic shocks is critical, as African economies move forward

Changes in world price’s for key African agriculture exports during 2012. African livelihoods and economies are heavily dependent on agriculture. Increasing integration into world markets provides opportunities for growth but also increasing exposure to market price fluctuations. Source: AfDB

Green Growth: Seizing new opportunities

Opportunities for Sustainable Development Pathways ( A Selection)

Leap-frog to efficient technologies: The urgent need to up-scale Africa’s energy, transport an urban infrastructure, represents the opportunity to leap-frog to energy and resource efficient solutions with co-benefits for human health (e.g. reduction of air pollution) and the environment (e.g. maintenance of ecosystem goods and services)

Africa’s new asset – carbon: Maintaining/increasing the carbon stored in Africa’s forests and land represents to limit global warming constitutes an opportunity for accessing new and emerging revenue streams, e.g. REDD+ (a performance based payment transfer scheme for reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation)

Harness the demographic dividend: Africa’s total population as well as the working age population is increasing rapidly. With appropriate education and capacity development, this represents need opportunities for economic diversification and business development.

Advancing Green Growth: Proposed Guiding Principles for Engagement in Africa

Development-Centered: Emphasis on growth and poverty alleviation

Client-Oriented: African countries choose their development pathways. AfDB can act as a catalyst for Green Growth financing and implementation efforts.

Inclusive: Aims at promoting gender equitable and pro-poor economic growth.

Participatory: A harmonized approach to Green Growth is needed at the country, regional and global level, aligning the skills and comparative advantages of stakeholders.

II. Towards a Strategic Approach

Advancing Green Growth:Proposed pillars and key focal areas

Proposed Pillars for Green Growth

IProviding Sustainable Infrastructure

IIEfficient/Sustainable Use of Natural Assets

IIIBuilding Resilience and Adaptive Capacity

RE/Low-carbon Energy Access Land (Agriculture, Forests and other land-uses)

Physical/Climate

Sustainable Transport Water (Freshwater, marine) Economic

Sustainable Cities Minerals Social

X-Cutting Issues

Private Sector, Regional Integration, Gender, Youth

AfDB’s Approach

The African Development Bank recognizes that a new growth paradigm is required in order to ensure that economic growth is socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable and also utilizes new growth drivers that can broadly be linked to a “Green Economy”.

The added value of AfDB engagement in Green Growth lies in framing a practical concept for Africa from the perspective the region’s multilateral development bank. AfDB has to function as a catalyst in terms of ideas and practical concepts, technical assistance and financial support for its Regional Member Countries (RMCs).

For this purpose the development of the AfDB’s strategic engagement in Green Growth will be addressed through three work-streams (WSs):(i)WS1: Development of AfDB’s Green Growth Strategy (GGS)(ii)WS2: Knowledge and Capacity Development (iii)WS3: Strategic and Operational Engagement with RMCs

III. Opportunities for Collaboration

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• Awareness Building• Technical Assistance• Implementation and Financing Partnerships

Opportunities for Partnerships and Collaboration

Cooperate Level

Knowledge development: Financing/collaboration in upstream technical analysis of cost effective development pathways towards Green Growth (identification of options).

Awareness building: Highlighting Africa’s Green growth / green economy opportunities and challenges among international organizations, governments and investors as well as providing a platform for engagement of different actors.

County Level

Strategy Development: financing and development of country strategic frameworks and investment plans for RMCs. Implementation co-finance: Resource mobilization and co-financing of “green growth” operations across various sectors.

Advisory work: Advising Regional Member countries on options for integration of green growth considerations in national development plans.

Private sector: Public private sector partnerships on Green Growth Economy, enterprise development

Civil society engagement: Building inclusiveness through engagemnt with NGOs, business associations, community organizations and citizens

Thank you. Merci

Further contacts:

Hela CheikhrouhouDirector, ONECCo-Chair Green Growth Strategy

Frank SperlingChief Climate Change Specialist, ONEC.3TTL, GGS

Emails: [email protected]

Aly Abou-SabaaChair, CCCCCo-Chair Green Growth Strategy

Vinaye Dey AncharazPrincipal Research Economist, EDRE.2Co-TTL, GGS

Disclaimer: The presentation outlines a set of ideas and perspectives for Green Growth in Africa and the African Development Bank’s engagement. AfDB is currently in the process of developing its strategic thinking on Green Growth. Hence, any opinions and view points presented here should not be interpreted as official opinions of AfDB, attributed to the institution or any of its affiliated members and partners as official policy or strategy.