LIVE updates from Africa’s Green Economy Summit in Cape Town, South Africa

ESI are the host media at AGES 2026

‘AGES helps ambition be translated to implementation’

Key comments from Director of Sustainable Environment and Blue Economy, African Union Commission, Harsen Nyambe at AGES 2026

“The geopolitics of this world is changing. We are facing issues of extreme weather and at the same time we receive a lot of demand from our youth – rightly so, they need jobs.

“When you look at the green and blue environment, we have challenges related to piracy and on land, related to conflicts. Amidst all of this, we are supposed to be able to develop, so the question is – where to from here?

“AGES helps ambition be translated to implementation. This year the theme is clear, it’s a call for action. We therefore need to walk the talk – there are those who are calling for us to go for carbon neutrality, others are talking about net-zero, and there are those who are calling for climate positive development.

“As a continent, for Africa it’s about just transitions. We have to utilitise the resources we have, to leapfrog, to move forward.

“We know the future of Africa is green, there is no doubt. What is needed is for us to make sure we create condusive environments to attract investors and to be able to compete with the rest of the world.

“Africa is one of those continents which is actually endowed with critical minerals. We therefore hold the future to e-mobility and to low-carbon development. That is the future we need.

“We want, as a continent, a future that is sustainable, that is a friend, that will yield green jobs for our youth and opportunities for the private sector to do business that yields profits.

“In terms of AGES, we need to also be mindful of that the fact that we’re not going to be judged by the number of sessions that we convened, or the number of projects that we presented, but by the number of live we change through the solar plants that are installed to power communities and the number of green jobs the youth will benefit from.

“As a continent, we are not here to be seeking charity, we are here to share global solutions that are for business as well as humanity.”

‘South Africa 1 of 5 African countries with Climate Change Act’

Key comments from South African Deputy Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment Narend Singh at AGES 2026

“We are one of five countries in Africa with a Climate Change Act. The challenge now is implementation. To achieve realistic action, a plethora of actions need to be addressed, including:

• “transitioning from brownfields projects to greenfields;
• “implementing low-carbon practices;
• “taking advantage of technology innovations;
• “addressing the skills gap;
• “ensuring opportunities are recognised;
• “ensuring that small business are able to access affordable financing; and
• “creating the ecosystem entrepreneurs and small business, who are the disruptors need, to be able to realise an inclusive low-carbon economy.”

‘Africa can leapfrog rest of the world’

Key comments from Sanlam Investment Group CEO Carl Roothman at AGES 2026

“We have to work incredibly hard for these investments. We’re competing with Asia, with East Europe. But, the opportunity, if we do it right and channel the money and go from ambition to action, we can leapfrog what is happening in the rest of the world, with all of the resources we have in Africa.

“When you think about Africa, we think of ourselves as one continent. But to the policy makers, the regulators, I say – make it as simple as possible, go for the investment.

“The challenge is how to organise ourselves, to build projects at scale, to bring hundreds of billion dollars into Africa, not Asia or Europe.

“On South Africa, we have done phenomenally when we think about infrastructure, but we need more. We need green infrastructure, we need infrastructure for growth.

“What could Cape Town be if we had a well-functioning rail system for business people – and ordinary people. What would that do to our economy?”

Cover photo:  Africa’s Green Economy Summit is underway in Cape Town, South Africa, this week.