European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen today called on Africa to work together on a proposal for global carbon pricing at this year's UN Cop 28 climate change conference, which she said would unlock "huge" resources for climate action in Africa.
"Setting a price on carbon emissions is one of the most efficient, effective tools in our hands," von der Leyen said. "It fosters innovation by the private sector. It makes heavy polluters pay a fair price. It creates revenues that can support a clean transition in developing countries. That's what we need."
Speaking at a climate summit in Nairobi, von der Leyen called on African leaders to work together to put forward a proposal for global carbon pricing and true carbon credits at Cop 28, which will take place in Dubai in November-December. Von der Leyen further noted the need to include and reward carbon sinks.
At Cop 26 in Glasgow in 2021, von der Leyen had called for an international carbon price floor, albeit then weighted according to countries' financial status.
In addition to a global CO2 price, von der Leyen today repeated a call made earlier this year for global renewables and energy efficiency targets. She wants to see a tripling of renewable capacity and doubling of energy efficiency by 2030. "This sounds bold, but this is doable," von der Leyen said.
She also indicated that €150bn is earmarked for Africa in loans and funding under the EU's €300bn Global Gateway, that also supports decarbonisation of the energy and transport sectors. And she pointed to the most recent EU funding to help Namibia launch a hydrogen industry. Von der Leyen has also announced €12mn in Global Gateway grants for Kenya's green hydrogen industry.
