OP-ED | Green Shipping Could Mean a Green Africa, By Chukwumerije Okereke

In early September, African leaders convened in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for the Second Africa Climate Summit, which focused on overcoming the obstacles to climate-resilient development on the continent. In their efforts to devise solutions, drive innovation, and attract financing, these leaders are reshaping global climate action. As part of that process, they are increasingly recognizing that decarbonizing shipping – an industry that generates nearly 3% of global greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions – could be a powerful catalyst for Africa’s green industrialization.

African governments have already emerged as key players in negotiations over reductions in shipping emissions. Earlier this year, they helped secure the approval of the Net-Zero Framework at the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations’ maritime regulator. Included in the framework is the world’s first binding pricing mechanism on GHG emissions from ships. This measure represents a significant victory for multilateral climate action and signals the beginning of the end of shipping’s dependence on fossil fuels.

But the real test will be how this pivotal policy is designed and implemented over the next few years. For African governments, the biggest question is how the revenues generated from the IMO’s pricing mechanism, projected to be $10-15 billion per year by 2030, will be used.

If distributed equitably, these funds could help Africa close its huge energy gap, upgrade its port infrastructure and fleets, and invest in transmission networks and grids that could unlock our vast renewable-energy potential, especially in geothermal, wind, and solar. A resilient grid is also essential for the production of renewable hydrogen and other green e-fuels – the most promising long-term clean-energy solution for the shipping industry. This would likely provide a boost to Africa’s existing green-hydrogen projects and spur new ones, in the process accelerating industrialization, boosting GDP, and positioning the continent as a global energy exporter.

Until now, Africa has faced challenges in developing its abundant renewable resources largely because of the high cost of capital. African economies remain weighed down by unsustainable debt burdens and low credit ratings, which make it prohibitively expensive to invest in clean energy. Given the perceived risks, the continent currently receives only around 2% of global investment in renewables. But the revenues raised from the IMO’s new carbon-pricing mechanism could be used to lower initial costs, de-risk clean-energy investments, and pave the way for Africa to power global shipping.

Crucially, the IMO must support this drive to harness Africa’s renewable resources by creating strong incentives for e-fuels. Otherwise, cheaper options such as liquefied natural gas, which is far more destructive to the planet, and crop-based biofuels, which increase pressure on food systems, risk undercutting green hydrogen and impeding African countries’ efforts to achieve sustainable growth and development.

The increased use of biofuels would be particularly catastrophic for African countries. In my country, Nigeria, where millions of people already face acute hunger, diverting crops to create fuel for ships – often carrying goods and supplies bound for wealthy countries – would be both immoral and economically reckless. Generating biofuels would likely worsen food insecurity and increase deforestation, GHG emissions, and land degradation – in some cases, to a greater extent than fossil-fuel production.

Like many other African countries, Nigeria has everything it takes to become a leader in sustainable shipping fuels, including abundant sun and wind, and a young workforce. Now it just needs the right investments. If designed properly, the IMO’s framework could help provide the funds that Africa needs to ramp up its renewable-energy capacity. Failure to create an ambitious, equitable policy risks limiting Africa’s prospects.

African countries must show the same leadership and determination as they did at the Second Africa Climate Summit. Ensuring that the continent reaps the benefits of the IMO’s new mechanism would be a remarkable example of international cooperation. A climate-resilient future is within reach, so long as African voices are heard, and taken seriously, on the global stage.

About the Author

Chukwumerije Okereke is Professor of Global Climate and Environmental Governance and Director of the Center for Climate and Development at Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike. This Op-Ed article was originally published on Project Syndicate, African Newspage’s publishing partner. The views expressed in it are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect African Newspage’s editorial policy.