U.S. government announces $ 7 billion in private investment for climate action and sustainability in Africa

Following U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’ call in Lusaka, Zambia, for private sector investment »to promote and enhance climate resilience, adaptation and mitigation across Africa«, the White House has released a list of related commitments totaling $ 7 billion. The list includes a wide variety of companies, sectors and projects ranging from reforestation programs to providing low-cost financing.
Sparsely represented among the announced activities are renewable energy and, in particular, solar energy. SunCulture, a company involved in rural electrification through small-scale solar systems, aims to mobilize a total of $ 140 million of private and public capital for solar-powered irrigation systems by 2028 – part of the company’s core business anyway, while it is, at the same time, far from being able to fund such an investment volume from its own resources.
The list also includes several financing programs for the dissemination of »clean« energy. Among the most significant is CrossBoundary Energy’s commitment to provide $ 500 million over the next two years to support »clean energy solutions« for businesses. Specific projects, such as establishing production capacities or building renewable energy power plants, do not appear on the list.
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