Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz disclosed on Monday that his country will invest 4 billion euros in renewable energy projects in Africa through 2030. Scholz added that these projects may ultimately aid Europe’s largest economy in becoming carbon neutral.
According to him, if Germany is to reach its target of net zero emissions by 2045, it will have to import significant amounts of green hydrogen in the future, including from Africa. He made this announcement at a German-African business forum in Berlin.
The forum came ahead of the “G20 Compact with Africa” summit, which aims to coordinate the development agendas of reform-minded nations and identify business opportunities in order to attract investment to the world’s poorest but fastest-growing continent.
Since taking office in late 2021, Scholz has traveled to five countries in Africa in an effort to deepen ties with the region. “Hydrogen production requires considerable investment at the start, so clear signals for long-term and durable cooperation are needed,” Scholz said.
“The Compact with Africa conference aims to send this signal: You can count on Germany as a partner” .
The joint EU-African Initiative for Green Energy would receive the 4 billion euros. It was previously announced that the European Union would provide grants totaling 3.4 billion euros.
African nations have long lamented that, despite Europe’s talk of investment, China really provides funding without passing judgment on morality. Nonetheless, European interest is growing while Chinese lending to Africa is declining.
Undoubtedly, the West is vying with China and Russia for greater influence in geopolitics, access to vital minerals, and fresh business prospects on the continent.
Following meetings with counterparts from several African nations during the conference, German Finance Minister Christian Lindner declared, “The global order is shifting and Europe and Germany can not just sit on the sidelines.”
The leaders of more than a dozen African states came together for the fifth summit of the G20 Compact with Africa, which was held on Monday under the German G20 presidency.
Last year, Germany’s trade with Africa totaled 60 billion euros ($65.4 billion), up 21.7% from 2021 but still a small portion of its trade with Asia.
German companies have tripled in number in the last five years, according to President Alassane Ouattara of the Ivory Coast, and German investment has increased sixfold since 2015, according to Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch of Morocco.
Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Senegal, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Ethiopia are the nations that make up the G20 Compact.
Ref: Reuters
