The Context
Climate change and energy poverty are some of the most critical challenges facing Africa today, and how these two issues are addressed will go a long way in defining the development future of the African continent. However, for far too long, the voice of Africa has been relatively muted on these two critical issues where it should loudly hear. Africa has several individuals who are well recognised authorities in the area of climate change, environment, energy and development, but somehow, a distinct African voice is missing from the global energy transition debate. There are several instances where major seminars, workshops, projects, publications, reports, and other initiatives on climate, energy, and development in Africa are championed by non-African actors and with very limited involvement of Africans. Two recent examples are the Just African Transition Report published by the Tony Blair Foundation and the Launch of the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet in COP26 in Glasgow. Some of the major reasons why African thought-leaders and think-tanks have struggled to play a central role in driving the African narrative and initiatives on these critical issues are the lack of political and financial support, limited strategic positioning, and the absence of a platform that provides thought-leaders the opportunity to pull their resources together and scale their impact. The proposed “Africa’s Thought Leader’s Forum on Climate, Energy, and Development (ATLCED)” is intended to fill these gaps.