Freak, we are killing the planet! What are we going to do?
I haven’t got a cooking clue. I’m baffled by all the scientific jargon. It’s mumbo jumbo to me: COP, climate change, circular economy. Most people probably react this way to the fact that we are poisoning a rapidly overpopulated planet. Some might dutifully reuse their shopping bags and take their bottles to the glass bank, but beyond that, it’s all quite overwhelming.
I have been a scientist and environmentalist all my working life and have had the good fortune to attend significant global environmental events, including the United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP). I have driven circular economy roadmaps and action plans across Africa. It has been a lifetime commitment, and I have few regrets. But I am increasingly aware that we can have the best strategies in the world — at the end of the day, it is about getting stuff done.
Massive gatherings like COP are full of vested interests. Green talk shops are helpful, but industry is always trying to influence complex debates that are challenging for most people to understand. Take global warming.
Carbon dioxide (CO₂) comprises only 0.04% of the Earth’s atmosphere by volume, yet it is labelled the bad boy responsible for climate change and laid firmly at the feet of mankind as the irresponsible polluter. The reality is that humans have contributed about a third of that increase since the industrial revolution, with the rest coming from natural systems.
What does that mean to me in Africa?
Western-led solutions for climate change seldom consider that people in the developing world have more immediate needs: shelter, energy, food, water, health and security.
How does that play out in Africa?
Deforestation in Africa is three times worse than in the Amazon. Every year, 4.4 million hectares of African forests are destroyed because people use wood for energy and land for crops. About 650 million people have no access to electricity in Africa, and charcoal is the primary source of power. This is catastrophic for the environment. It destroys biodiversity and ecosystems and drives desertification.
People need power not only to live, but for every other economic sector to grow and thrive — to escape the constant cycle of poverty and have any hope of achieving sustainable development goals.
Half the world’s population lives in developing and emerging countries, yet they received only 15% of global renewable energy investments in 2022. Sub-Saharan Africa received less than 1.5% of global renewable energy investments between 2000 and 2020. If you set up a big solar or wind plant in Africa, chances are there isn’t infrastructure to plug it into.
The answer lies in microgrids. But these smaller investments, paid back over three years, aren’t attractive to big funders who want 50-year finance deals. There is a gap between lofty global green targets and what can realistically be implemented on the ground.
And there are practical challenges everywhere. In South Africa, household waste collection coverage has dropped to around 60% over the past 20 years. Only 12.5% of households in rural areas have regular waste collection services. What happens to the rest of it?
Global companies have invested US$400 billion in new plastic manufacturing plants, which will increase the amount of plastic in circulation by 40% in the next 10 years. The big growth market for that plastic will be Africa, where the population is projected to increase by one billion people by 2050. The problem is not going away — it is going to get worse.
In Africa, post-harvest food loss sits at around 30% because supply chains are not sophisticated, power is inconsistent and cold chains cannot be maintained. Talk about plastic pollution to people in Mozambique who can’t feed themselves — they won’t give a hoot.
We have to look at small projects that offer immediate local opportunities.
It takes about six tons of carbon dioxide to produce a ton of clean plastic that is thrown away after a single use, and sending it to landfill uses several more. Yet that same plastic can be used as a fuel source in generators, offsetting the import costs of far more expensive fuels.
Africa doesn’t have efficient circular systems. Much of what we need is imported. People don’t know what a circular economy looks like in practice. We must use waste as a resource and invest in skills that deepen food security, conserve water and create energy.
If that sounds like a lot, start simply. Put people at the centre of the solution and focus on small-scale projects that deliver results from the bottom up. We have to simplify the green conversation, look for local answers and scale down before we scale up.
Governments tend to create highly regulated systems, which can be good. But smart, technically competent people should run them. Governments should decentralise energy production and waste management because this creates jobs. Their role should be to oversee and enable — not to try to do everything themselves.
