Part 2
14.03.2024
The Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) concept maybe relatively new but it remains crucial to any country’s planning process and development agenda because it helps to drive investment decisions and inform city planning, said Dr. Kelvin Kamayoyo, Zambian economist, Climate Change Advocate and Scholar. It could also help address the challenges caused by urbanisation and increasing population in most cities on the continent of Africa. According to the United Nations, World Population Prospects (2022), “Africa’s total population has increased tenfold and now stands at over 1.4 billion. The United Nations projects that by 2050, Africa’s population will reach close to 2.5 billion. Such a figure would mean that more than 25 percent of the world’s population will be African. Its population growth will slow thereafter, but Africa will remain by far the largest source of growth globally: its share of the world’s population is set to reach close to 40 percent by the end of the century.” Additionally, African countries ought to invest more in technology and innovation because such play a crucial role in sustainable waste management and harnessing the power of data and automation for informed decision making, including transforming cities from carbon emitters to carbon sinks.
African countries have enormous economic potential for growth and their cities are experiencing rapid development induced by population increase and deepening global economic integration. However, this all situation must be supported by dedicated “Green City Plans” that are premised on green growth and circular economy in order to guarantee sustainable development. According to the Top 100 Sustainable Cities Index 2022 Edition published by the Dutch Company Arcadis, six African cities ranked as follows, “Cairo in Egypt (86th), Cape Town in South Africa (89th), Nairobi in Kenya (96th), Johannesburg in South Africa (97th), Lagos in Nigeria (99th) and Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo (100th). The six African cities share the list with other metropolises around the world, having defied 32 criteria relating to energy efficiency, mobility, waste management, access to drinking water, protection of biodiversity and technological innovations.” This undoubtedly indicates that more needs to be done on the continent of Africa to ensure that earnesty priority is accorded to the creation of more green cities and green jobs for accelerated growth synergies.
According to the Economist Intelligence Unit (2023), “Currently, more than half of the world’s population lives in cities, and this figure is projected to increase to 68 percent by 2050. This implies that billions of people will affect the planet’s resources and ecosystems.” Time has come for cities on the continent of African to go green or embrace eco-friendly investment in order to build the desired resilience amidst climate change events and increasing population. This would also require African cities to embrace energy efficiency, smart mobility for traffic efficiency, solar integration, recycling, access to safe and clean drinking water, sustainable waste management, green governance, protection of biodiversity, and technological innovations.
Arguably, the call for African countries to modernise and transform their cities anchored on triple bottom line approach or ESG is timely and relevant in order to boost the continent’s climate adaptation capabilities and creating more green job opportunities for the growing youthful population. It is therefore critical that more African countries undertake to adopt sustainable and ecological practices in both urban and rural areas so as to reduce their carbon footprint. African countries ought to develop “Green City Plans” that clearly articulate strategies aimed at promoting reforestation, carbon sequestration, green spaces, and restore and replant more trees to protect local climate health including enhancing water security by improving water distribution networks, promoting water conservation practices, and installing rainwater harvesting systems.
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