Conclusion

Climate Challenges: Making the Transition in Africa a Success

Due to the economic catching-up specific to developing countries, the African continent will continue to experience strong economic growth in the coming decades, but its development pathway will have to combine two objectives: improving the living conditions of its population while taking climate challenges into account. As we have seen, these two objectives are not incompatible because the continent has abundant resources it can use to minimize the carbon intensity of its growth (particularly in the energy sector). Another advantage is that Africa will continue to benefit from rapid technical progress in the fields of renewable energy generation and storage. Lastly, the continent is less subject to the lock-in effects observed in many emerging countries because much of its stock of physical capital is yet to be built. However, reconciling human development objectives with taking action to deal with climate challenges requires defining appropriate policies, particularly in terms of land development, urbanization and agricultural development in a continent that faces significant population growth. Reconciling these objectives also requires the full mobilization of financial players, especially development banks. They will play a decisive role in directing financing flows towards the investments needed for a development pathway that respects human needs and the constraints imposed by climate challenges.