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Africa at Cop27

Season 2, Episode 32

Duration: 46m

Few people understand issues of international trade, development and environment as well as Pascal Lamy. Following eight years as director-general of the World Trade Organisation, Lamy now serves on the board of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, one of Africa’s most influential civil society organisations. He joins us following the release of the Foundation’s 2022 Governance Forum report, which aims to make Africa’s case in the global climate change debate ahead of Cop27 in Egypt in November.

Pascal Lamy at a conference in Sri Lanka in 2018. (Photo by ISHARA S. KODIKARA / AFP)

Natural gas will be a flashpoint

Framing it as a race between demography and economy, Lamy wants to see Africa’s development needs prioritised in the global response to climate change. Africa is prepared to fight for its position, he says, and highlights South-South solidarity as a countervailing force against the US, China, EU and other heavyweights.

Natural gas is set to be a flashpoint at Cop27. Despite claims that foreign ownership, frothy export markets, high prices and poor infrastructure make it unlikely that gas will be a development panacea for Africa, Pascal insists that the continent’s prodigious reserves should be exploited.

Governance will be key

Africa is already a large positive for the global climate ledger, and Pascal outlines further opportunities for the continent to support global climate solutions. Governance will be key, he says, explaining the Mo Ibrahim Foundation’s work on governance monitoring, assessment and improvement.

We conclude with a discussion of the global trade environment. Pascal offers his thoughts on Africa’s place within the global trade system, assesses the implementation of the AfCFTA, and explains how Africa can secure greater benefits from trade in the future.

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Credits

Host: Angus Chapman

Co-producers: Peter Doerrie, Dr Desné Masie

Digital Editor: Charles Dietz

Design: Jason Venkatasamy

Music: Corporate Uplifting Chill by MusicLFiles

Licence: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/