"Establishing a dedicated national facility for financing the just and sustainable transition, supported by the central bank or the ministry of finance, to facilitate a more effective use of available financing", reads the policy recommendations of the Economic Report on Africa 2024, launched by UNECA, under the theme 'Investing in a Just and Sustainable Transition in Africa'.

Throughout the document, UNECA analysts defend the importance of ensuring a fair energy transition and making good use of African countries' vast natural resources, namely those that will be essential to ensure a greener economy less dependent on fossil fuels, such as cobalt, nickel or copper.

"African countries have a great opportunity to transition to inclusive economies; seizing these opportunities and transitioning to sustainability require changes in interconnected social systems at multiple levels, ranging from the functioning of global supply chains to the behavior and values of individual citizens", the report argues.

For UNECA, "these unprecedented transitions represent complex and uncertain processes, which will depend on how well African policymakers understand the dynamics and address the key elements and drivers of the transition in the coming decades", starting with the type of infrastructure that each country will need.

The Economic Report on Africa 2024 presents the conditions for investments in a just and sustainable transition that meets the aspirations of African countries, defined in the 2030 Agenda and the 2063 Agenda, to build a prosperous Africa that meets the Sustainable Development Goals, arguing that the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy is an unprecedented opportunity for the region.

African countries "can leverage the global green minerals boom and their vast renewable energy resources, tropical forests and marine ecosystems to export carbon credits, generating finance for sustainable investments", exemplifies UNECA.

The institution warns, however, that "unlocking these investments will depend on the capacity of African countries to mobilize the necessary financing from domestic and external sources, including climate finance".

Among the main recommendations are the strengthening of national policies and strategies, increasing the role of the private sector, balancing growth and strategic public investment, on the one hand, and managing fiscal sustainability, on the other.

Mobilizing more financing through partnerships between various actors, taking advantage of the African Union's presence in the G20 to give voice to these initiatives, is another recommendation from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

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