Africa offers hope for a safer planet

On February 7, a boat made entirely of recycled plastic — the world’s first — cruised into a quiet harbour in Zanzibar after two weeks at sea.

The rainbow-hued Flipflopi dhow, built and sailed by Kenyans, had docked at six towns from Lamu to Stonetown, inspiring a historic pollution-beating commitment in every port of call.

As the example of Flipflopi shows, human ingenuity can carry incredible power. And we have never needed it so desperately.

Our oceans are teeming with plastic. Our climate is in extreme stress. We are losing species at historic rates and squandering irreplaceable natural resources.

All the while, however, we still fail to meet the basic needs of the more than 700 million people who live in extreme poverty.

While we have made progress in some areas, we simply cannot continue with business as usual. The time has come for a truly transformational change and Africa has to help us to get there.

Our continent is incredibly rich in natural capital — from the fertile soils of the Rift Valley to the vast forests of the Congo Basin to the rich waters off the west African coast.

We also have an enormous resource in our people: We have a young, dynamic and growing population that is hungry for innovation and eager to seize new opportunities for sustainable growth.

And we have a powerful framework for our continent’s development: The African Union’s Agenda 2063.

We also have an important opportunity on the horizon. In Nairobi next week, UN Environment will bring together leaders from government, civil society, business and academia for the Fourth United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA).

I am confident that the meeting will result in a concrete plan of action to get us closer to the goals that we have set for 2030, 2063 and beyond.

I see five key opportunities for systemic change, each of which resonates deeply across our continent.

First, we need to transform how our economies work and the way we value the goods and services that we use.

We need to break the link between growth and increased resource use and put an end to our throwaway consumption culture.

We can start by embracing “circularity”: Reducing waste, reusing materials and redesigning how we create value from the things we consume.

Secondly, we need to reset our relationship with the natural world. We can start by acknowledging the value of our forests, oceans and other natural capital in our financial accounts and considering the environment in all of our decisions about roads, buildings and other infrastructure.

We need to transform the way we produce and consume food, to minimise waste and make our diets more sustainable. And we need to protect and restore our wildlife and wild places, as well as the benefits they provide to human beings.

Thirdly, we need to rethink how our cities function — from waste management to electric buses and urban planning.

Africa’s population is expected to double by 2050 and more than 80 percent of that growth will happen in our cities.

Smart and sustainable urban planning represents a tremendous opportunity to reduce the strain we put on the planet while also improving the quality of life of hundreds of millions of people.

Fourthly, we need to embrace clean cooling. Having access to cooling is not a luxury; it underpins the ability of millions of people to live in health and comfort, especially here on our sun-drenched continent.

As temperatures rise, the demand for air conditioning and refrigeration will skyrocket. We must be ready to meet the growing demand for cooling with smart, accessible technologies that improve people’s lives without harming the planet.

Lastly, we need to see a near-total shift to renewable sources of energy.

We are making excellent progress on hydropower, wind and solar in Africa but nearly two-thirds of our electricity still comes from dirty fossil fuels.

By 2050, that figure must fall to single digits while energy from renewables surge. We must make it easier for individuals, businesses and governments everywhere to make the switch to renewable energy.

If we drive systemic change across these five areas, then we will lift people out of poverty and build a safer, healthier and more equitable society in Africa and beyond. By protecting the planet, we are also protecting its people.

I hope the thousands of delegates will have the chance to see some of the many ways in which Africa, and Africans, can drive the transformations that our planet requires.

Our continent has much to offer; it’s time to show the rest of the world what we can do.

Ms Msuya is Acting Executive Director of UN Environment.