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The eighth Babacar Ndiaye Lecture, held on October 26, has identified the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as a key strategy for addressing Africa’s dual objectives of economic growth and climate resilience.
Convening policymakers, academics and environmental advocates, the event explored how AfCFTA could drive sustainable industrialisation and regional trade, positioning Africa as a leader in the global green transition.
Afreximbank President, Professor Benedict Oramah, highlighted AfCFTA’s potential to address climate challenges while spurring economic growth, stressing that calls for Africa to decarbonise without sufficient industrialization are premature.
“Calling for Africa to decarbonize when it has not even fully carbonized poses a serious threat to socio-economic progress,” Oramah stated in a statement issued in Lusaka on Wednesday.
Professor Yemi Osinbajo, Nigeria’s former Vice President, discussed AfCFTA’s potential to keep processing activities within Africa, reducing the carbon emissions generated by exporting raw materials.
“Intra-African trade in finished goods will substantially reduce this massive cause of global emissions,” he said.
Osinbajo noted that AfCFTA could boost intra-African trade by 35 percent by 2045 while keeping greenhouse gas increases minimal.
Egypt’s Minister of Planning, Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, noted that Africa was “the least responsible for emissions yet bears the highest burden of climate impacts.”
She urged international partners to provide financing to support Africa’s sustainable development.
UN Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, added that renewable energy access could reshape Africa’s economy, improving livelihoods and reducing poverty.
“With adequate financing, renewables can transform African economies, creating jobs and providing access to power for over 600 million people,” she said.
The lecture reinforced Afreximbank’s commitment to sustainable financing, aiming to support AfCFTA in reshaping Africa’s economic and environmental future.
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