The African Climate Conversation: James Mwangi on the opportunity for Africa to lead the Green Revolution

In the run-up to COP27, there is an expectation that there will be a renewed call for Africa to be able to exploit its abundant gas reserves.

On this podcast, BII’s Andrew Murray-Watson talks to James Mwangi, founder of Climate Action Platform for Africa and Executive Director of the Dalberg Group, about Africa’s energy challenges and opportunities. 

Their discussion delves into the ongoing debate on Africa’s fossil fuel endowment. James breaks down both sides of the debate to address what it means for Africa to exploit its gas reserves. He discusses the need to put aside dogma to factually weigh up the long-term economic viability, speed and stability of building new gas infrastructure assets versus clean energy alternatives such as solar and storage infrastructure.

James observes that with a new way of thinking, Africa has a real opportunity to lead in the green revolution by leaning into the continent’s vast renewable energy and transition mineral resources to pivot from the current global energy system. The continent has the potential to be a disruptor and dominate in some of the emerging new renewables or in the production of the transition materials needed to facilitate a transition to a low-carbon future.