Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has launched the Centre for Climate & Just Transition in Africa as part of its global focus on helping companies and governments accelerate their climate and sustainability journeys. Africa – and South Africa – is disproportionately exposed to the risks posed by climate change. Increased climate volatility, rising water scarcity and the occurrence of extreme events such as droughts and floods will have a devastating effect on local livelihoods and regional food systems. The devastating impact of climate change on farmers’ productivity and recent floods in Lagos, Nigeria bear testament to this. “Both Climate and Africa are priorities for BCG globally, and that is why we are launching our Centre for Climate & Just Transition in Africa, with the purpose of unlocking the full potential of Africa to advance climate action and a Just Transition,” said Lucas Chaumontet, Managing Director and Partner at BCG, Johannesburg.
The Centre will work to address the impact of climate change and accelerate progress toward net-zero while ensuring a Just Transition by focusing on three key priorities:
- Co-creating an aligned national and continental climate fact base to help alignment, decision, and cooperation among key stakeholders
- Mobilising forces to build and scale globally competitive green industries to improve the economic context, which is critical to achieve a Just Transition
- Developing critical capabilities within the public and private sectors to drive local leadership and ownership in African countries in this journey
“Nigeria’s economic development has been impeded by poor power supply for many years due to several factors, not least the degradation and under-capacity of the power infrastructure in the country. However, the passage of the Nigerian Electricity Bill 2022, which empowers states to generate electricity and licence investors to install mini-grids, renewables and power plants, is a key ingredient for a just transition to net zero whilst addressing the urgent need for energy access,” said Oluseun Solanke-Ebhojie, Partner and Associate Director, BCG Nigeria. “We believe that when the electricity bill becomes law and is properly implemented, it will go a long way in strengthening the power sector and accelerating access to electricity for all Nigerians.”
“Through the Centre, global and local experts from the public and private sectors and across the sustainability spectrum will engage, share knowledge and be able to access a vast library of relevant tools to achieve these aims. By bringing together a full suite of mitigation, adaptation and just transition capabilities to a broad set of industries and governments across the continent we will be able to accelerate impact in the climate space,” said Chaumontet. Our Centre has already more than 50 core members across Africa, and is led by a passionate team, with responsibilities across countries and topics. The leadership team is all based in Africa and the vast majority are Africans, consistently with our ambition to unlock the full potential of Africa. Enabling the transition through creativity, innovation and collaboration
“Achieving this will require creativity, innovation, and collaboration, and we will continue to partner with governments, leading companies and civil society to help reach these climate and sustainability goals”, said Chaumontet. Partnerships are key in this journey. In South Africa, for example, BCG has partnered with the National Business Initiative (NBI) to develop decarbonisation and Just Transition pathways for key sectors of the economy. In the rest of Africa including Nigeria, BCG has partnered with the UNGC to establish the African Business Leaders Coalition to advance sustainable growth, uphold the UN 10 principles and promote ESG.
Last year, BCG was chosen as the exclusive consultancy partner to the Conference of Parties (COP), supporting the UK Presidency as the official hosts of COP26, to deliver this important global event. BCG’s support for COP26 complements its long-standing support for the global climate agenda through partnerships with the World Economic Forum, UN High Level Climate Champions, successive COP Presidencies, SBTi (Science Based Targets Initiative), CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project), Breakthrough Energy Catalyst (where BCG is a founding partner), and the First Movers Coalition.
