WATCH: Climate finance focus ahead of COP27

Nearly 40-million people worldwide work in jobs related to clean energy, according to a September 8 report from the International Energy Agency. That number represents 56% of total energy sector employment, meaning that for the first time, clean energy jobs outnumber those involved in producing, transporting, and burning fossil fuels.

The US’s Inflation Reduction Act contains some of the most robust climate change provisions in American history. It will likely spur a race to the top in renewable energy technologies and have implications for African exports in critical minerals for these technologies.

The US Strategy for Sub-Saharan Africa, which was released about the same time, however is disappointingly vague on key climate issues, including climate finance. Recently SA’s banks have come under the Just Share spotlight. With developments moving rapidly, and the scope and extent of potential ESG disputes evolving in real-time, it is becoming an important risk factor for business as we build up to COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt.

Joining Michael Avery for this conversation are Barbara Creecy, Minister of Forestry and Fisheries and Environmental Affairs; Olivia Rumble, co-founder of Climate Legal; Kirsten Wolmarans, partner at Webber Wentzel and Candice Stevens, chair of Africa’s Sustainable Finance Coalition and co-chair of IUCN WCPA Sustainable Finance Specialist Group.

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