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6. Further Evaluations and Reflections

As previously highlighted, African countries face challenges to water and food security from both physical and anthropogenic factors. Despite increasingly hostile climatic conditions, the potential to technically overcome the physical aspect appears feasible given advancements in agriculture inputs, methods, technology, and infrastructure.

However, the anthropogenic aspect encompassing social, political, and economic challenges seem more daunting to address. 

Despite sufficient resources and advantageous economic tailwinds, numerous obstacles inhibit the development of feasible investment opportunities in Africa (IEA, 2023). Unsound fiscal debt management has restricted the availability of public capital while underdeveloped regulatory frameworks, unrobust public policies, and unclear long-term strategies have private investors wary of heightened contractual, legal, political, and reputational risks (IEA, 2023, AfDB, 2023).

African countries also face structural challenges in the clean energy transition: fossil fuels form significant portions of many countries’ national assets. Therefore, if these countries are unable to extract these resources, their credit rating and ability to access capital will likely be adversely impacted (Lakhani, 2023a), further increasing dependence on foreign aid and investments. However, Africa already faces a significant funding shortfall as it accommodates 20% of the global population while attracting below 2% of global clean energy financing (IEA, 2023). 

Therefore, if Africa is to achieve global clean transition targets, the continent has to be equitably compensated and supported by developed economies, namely the G20, who have historically been the largest emitters and beneficiaries of fossil fuels (UNEP, 2022). However, funding is also short in this regard: the Loss and Damage Fund for supporting climate adaptation and mitigation in developing countries raised approximately $700 million at COP28, covering below 0.2% of annual global warming costs incurred by developing countries (Lakhani, 2023b).

Furthermore, Africa must further develop robust conflict resolution mechanisms. Measures such as the African Development Bank’s Africa Emergency Food Production Facility only addresses conflict symptoms, while the African Union, a theoretically influential organization representing all of Africa, has been relegated to passive mediation roles in its response to conflicts in Tigray, Mali, and Sudan (Cascais, 2023).

Fundamentally, incentives need to be aligned at community, national, and international scales: community leaders must be incentivized to utilize public finances for their communities’ benefit. National leaders must be incentivized to prudently manage fiscal resources, improve regulatory frameworks, increase policy transparency, and diplomatically resolve potential conflicts. Developed nations must be incentivized to equitably provide the technical and financial resources required by developing countries for climate adaptation and mitigation. 

Engaging with these blogs and those of my peers over the past three months has proved personally enlightening in understanding Africa’s deeply intricate complexities. I am appreciative of the 250 views, 10 comments, and peer blogs that have encouraged and spurred me to think about issues from a sharper, more critical and holistic lens. While these blogs just scratch the surface of understanding water and food in Africa, they have further developed my perspective on emerging economy development as I strive to influence sustainability goals and agendas in my future career in sustainable finance at a global financial institution.


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