Energy Transition Africa

Solar panels and transmission towers in Africa at sunset, symbolising the role of foreign finance in powering the continent’s clean energy future.

The Price of Power: Why Africa’s Clean Energy Future Still Depends on External Money

“Africa’s energy transition cannot be financed in a foreign language.” That line has lingered in my mind ever since I read the European Commission’s latest press release announcing €545 million…

Vincent Egoro October 6, 2025Africa clean energy finance, climate finance, energy transition, EU-Africa partnership, just transition, local currency, renewable energy Africa

African child carrying sack of ore in foreground, with wind turbines and solar panels in background under sunrise.

Critical Minerals

Finance or Folly? How Climate Capital Is Fueling Mining Abuses in Africa

In recent climate weeks, the buzzwords were everywhere: “green capital,” “just transition,” “unlocking climate finance.” On panels, participants nodded in agreement about the trillions needed to accelerate the energy transition.…

Vincent Egoro October 3, 2025Africa energy transition, climate finance mining Africa, critical minerals, just transition, mining governance, resource justice

Critical Minerals

Critical Minerals, Critical Choices: Africa’s Bid to Control the Green Value Chain

Africa holds the minerals the world needs. The real question is: can the continent hold the value, too? A continent at the centre of the green revolution From cobalt in…

Vincent Egoro October 1, 2025Africa critical minerals value chain, Africa green economy, AU critical minerals coalition, extractivist trap Africa, mining governance Africa, Mo Ibrahim unlocking green riches

Gas flare and solar panels against a Nigerian city skyline at golden hour, representing Nigeria’s energy transition gamble.

Fossil Fuel Phaseout

Nigeria’s Gas Gamble: Can a Fossil Future Deliver a Just Transition?

Nigeria has bet big on gas, but will the gamble pay off, or leave the country with stranded assets and empty promises? The new NDC: doubling down on fossil gas…

Vincent Egoro September 29, 2025energy access Nigeria, fossil fuel phase-out Africa, just transition Africa, NDC gas plan, Nigeria gas transition Africa, stranded assets Nigeria

Fossil Fuel Phaseout

Fossil Fuel Revenues in Decline: Who Pays for Africa’s Transition?

During one of my earliest visits to the Niger Delta, I met a fisherman who showed me the mangroves where his father had worked. The waters were slick with oil,…

Vincent Egoro September 22, 2025Africa energy transition, Africa fossil fuel revenues decline, Climate justice Africa, concessional finance Africa, critical minerals Africa, debt relief climate finance Africa, fossil fuel phase-out Africa, just transition Africa

African family near flood-damaged home with debt paperwork stacked, symbolising climate loss and damage burden.

Energy Transition

Who Pays for Loss & Damage? Beyond Adaptation Grants

At the just-ended Africa Climate Summit in Addis Ababa, I found myself circling back to one persistent question: who really pays for loss and damage in Africa? In side events…

Vincent Egoro September 15, 2025Africa adaptation finance, Africa COP30 negotiations, Africa loss and damage, Climate justice Africa, debt-for-climate swaps, Green Climate Fund, just transition Africa, loans vs grants

Shipping containers stacked at sunset, symbolising Africa’s debt-heavy climate finance system.

Governance & Transparency

Africa’s Climate Finance: Stuck in Debt Mode

Today, I am attending the opening of the Africa Climate Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and one issue is already at the centre of my reflections: Africa’s climate finance is…

Vincent Egoro September 8, 2025Africa adaptation finance, Africa climate finance, Africa debt and climate, Africa renewable finance, Climate justice Africa, climate loans vs grants, debt-for-climate swaps, just transition Africa

Cargo ship with containers in foreground, solar panels and wind turbines under construction in background, symbolising Africa’s energy transition.

Governance & Transparency

Resource Nationalism and Renewable Finance: Africa’s Moment to Rise

From Abuja to Kinshasa, the tone of Africa’s energy debates is shifting. For decades, the continent’s mineral wealth was extracted and exported with little local value. Fossil fuels promised prosperity…

Vincent Egoro September 5, 2025Africa climate finance, Africa energy transition, Africa resource nationalism, critical minerals Africa, ESG Africa, just transition Africa, local value addition Africa, renewable energy Africa

African village at dusk, half illuminated by solar lamps and half in darkness, children walking toward light, symbolising just energy transition.

Energy Transition Governance & Transparency

Just Transition in Africa: Beyond Rhetoric, Towards Real Communities

Few phrases have travelled as fast through climate diplomacy as “just transition.” From COP plenaries to ministerial communiqués, it rolls easily off tongues. The idea is simple but profound: as…

Vincent Egoro September 3, 2025

Cargo ship leaving African port with export containers, unfinished factory in background at golden hour, symbolising Africa’s critical minerals export vs industrialisation challenge.

Critical Minerals

Dig, Ship, Repeat? The Extractivist Trap in Africa’s Critical Minerals Boom

Walk into any electric vehicle showroom in Berlin, Los Angeles or Shanghai, and you are looking at Africa. The cobalt that steadies the battery, the copper that carries the current,…

Vincent Egoro September 1, 2025Africa critical minerals, Africa mining value addition, Africa resource governance, Climate justice Africa, cobalt Africa, EV battery supply chain Africa, just energy transition Africa, lithium Africa