Africa: Radical Faye looks strong in Senegal’s presidential election

Africa's mineral riches are central to its history. However, the race to combat climate change has reignited interest in the continent given its vast deposits of critical minerals. Southern Africa, in particular, has received much attention with the development of several key transport corridors with the almost explicit purpose of scaling up the availability of these minerals on international markets. We set out to investigate the economic potential of the region in terms of its critical minerals while taking into consideration what the establishment of these corridors means for the regional economy.

Sub-Saharan cities will lead the way for GDP growth, but similarly strong demographic changes will limit gains in GDP per person, reaffirming the region’s position at the lower end of the development spectrum.

We have identified five key challenges Africa faces in transitioning to renewable energy at the scale needed to combat climate change and meet the continent's climate commitments. Perhaps the central challenge is the prevailing socio-economic conditions on the continent, which offer little wiggle room for governments to divert fiscal revenue to sustainability-related initiatives. With most African economies being relatively undiversified and many reliant on fossil fuel exports, the global transition to sustainable practices threatens economic losses if not mitigated ‒ emphasising the need to diversify economic activity.