Africa and Europe strengthen partnership to accelerate green industrialization at COP31
High-level roundtable highlights the importance of aligning energy access, energy security and industrial development to unlock investment, create jobs and accelerate economic transformation.
African and European leaders convened at COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye, for a high-level policymakers roundtable on accelerating Africa’s green industrialization through clean energy investment, technology cooperation and stronger industrial supply chains.
The roundtable, titled Powering Africa’s Green Industrialization: Clean Energy Systems and Supply Chains for Productive Use and Industrial Development, was convened by Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the Africa-Europe Foundation and Enabel (the Belgian International Cooperation Agency), and championed by the African Union Commission and European Commission.
The discussions underscored the importance of aligning Africa’s energy access and security priorities with industrialization and job creation to advance socioeconomic development and a just energy transition.
Around 655 million people globally still lack access to electricity, more than 80% of whom are in Africa. Closing this gap remains central to Sustainable Development Goal 7, which calls for affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030 and the commitment to leave no one behind. However, participants emphasized that expanding electricity access must go hand in hand with ensuring reliable, affordable and sufficient energy to power businesses, manufacturing and productive economic activities.
A central theme was the need to advance both first-time electrification, connecting households and businesses without electricity, and end-use electrification, transitioning industry, transportation and buildings to electricity. Together, these priorities can turn energy access into jobs, local production and value addition, positioning clean energy as a driver of economic transformation.
The roundtable on Powering Africa’s Green Industrialization at COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye.
Connecting Africa’s energy resources to industrial opportunities
Africa has abundant solar, wind, hydropower and geothermal resources, alongside critical minerals essential to the global clean energy transition. Participants highlighted the opportunity to leverage these assets to develop domestic mineral processing capabilities, manufacture clean technologies and build competitive industrial value chains across the continent.
Since 2023, at least 13 African countries have introduced mineral export restrictions to encourage domestic processing and greater value capture.
Advancing green industrial value chains can also support the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and deeper partnerships with Europe and other international partners.
The discussion also highlighted the potential of carbon markets under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement to complement public and private investment. Africa is well-positioned to generate high-integrity emissions reductions through renewable energy deployment and industrial decarbonization, using carbon finance to accelerate clean energy investment and industrial development.
Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All, co-chaired the roundtable.
Strengthening Africa-Europe cooperation
Co-chaired by Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All, and Mattias Frumerie, Sweden’s Climate Ambassador and Head of Delegation to UNFCCC, the roundtable brought together ministers, development finance institutions, international organizations and private sector representatives.
Discussions focused on two fundamental questions: What clean energy and grid investments should countries prioritize to accelerate productive use and industrial value addition? And which clean industrial value chains should Africa and Europe develop together?
Participants highlighted existing frameworks that can be better aligned to accelerate implementation. These include Mission 300, which aims to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030, as well as continental initiatives such as the African Single Electricity Market, Continental Power System Master Plan and African Energy Efficiency Strategy, which provide additional foundations for regional energy integration.
On the European side, participants also discussed the Africa-EU Green Energy Initiative, delivered through the Global Gateway Investment Package, which aims to add 50 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity and provide electricity access to 100 million Africans by 2030.
Participants emphasized that the success of these initiatives depends on addressing Africa’s underlying energy infrastructure and reliability challenges. Without sufficient clean energy generation, transmission and distribution, industrial investment and local value addition will remain constrained.
The roundtable also highlighted the importance of international and South-South cooperation. Africa brings renewable energy resources, critical minerals, growing markets and industrial opportunities, while European partners can contribute capital, technology, engineering expertise and access to markets.
Building on collaborative platforms, including the Africa Green Industrialization Initiative, SEforALL’s Green Industrialization Hub and the Africa-Europe Foundation’s Strategy Group on Green Industrialization, the meeting reinforced the importance of aligning existing frameworks and partnerships behind mutually beneficial industrial agendas.
Ministers, development finance institutions, international organizations and private sector representatives took part in the discussions.
From Antalya to Addis Ababa
The discussions identified four priority areas for continued cooperation: scaling clean energy finance for productive use and industrial development; strengthening Africa’s clean technology manufacturing base; advancing strategic industrial value chains along regional economic corridors; and keeping green industrialization high on the agenda ahead of COP32 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The meeting reinforced a shared ambition to ensure that Africa’s energy transition delivers more than electricity access, creating the foundations for competitive industries, jobs, domestic value addition and sustainable economic growth.
