October 30, 2025
Africa’s Net Zero Future Amid Development Priorities
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Event Details:
October 30, 2025
9:00-10:00 AM EST
2:00-3:00 PM WAT
4:00-5:00 PM EAT
Online
Event Contact:
Mary Louks, Director, Events and Engagement,
[email protected]
About the event
Africa is at the center of global climate ambition, yet its net-zero transition must be understood as a development challenge as much as a climate one. With energy demand set to grow sixfold by the end of the century, decisions about when and how to reach net-zero will shape the continent’s energy mix, food security, water resources, and economic future.
Clean Air Task Force’s new study, Exploring Net-Zero Emissions Pathways for Africa Across Different Timelines, uses integrated assessment modeling to evaluate three possible net-zero timelines—2050, 2070, and 2100—alongside a business-as-usual case. The findings show that earlier action delivers deeper emissions cuts but at higher near-term costs and with sharper trade-offs in land and food systems. Later transitions ease short-term economic pressures but risk locking in higher cumulative emissions and delaying climate benefits.
This webinar brings together leading researchers, policymakers, and thought leaders to unpack the study’s findings, highlight regional differences, and discuss what realistic and equitable net-zero pathways mean for Africa. The discussion will also address critical questions about who funds ambition, how to safeguard development priorities, and what African negotiators should demand from international climate finance ahead of COP30.
Speakers
Lily Odarno
Regional Director, Africa Program, Clean Air Task Force
Michael Dioha
Senior Energy Researcher, Africa Program, Clean Air Task Force
Olufunso Somorin
Regional Principal Officer, African Development Bank
Tafadzwa Mabhaudhi
Professor of Climate Change, Food Systems, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine + Director, Lancet Countdown Africa Center
Norbert Edomah
Professor of Energy Systems and Policy, School of Science and Technology, Pan-Atlantic University
