The consequences of the development model driven by the industrial era are now widely known, from the excessive increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the terrestrial atmosphere, to impacts on biodiversity. This situation requires profound changes in the way the economy is managed globally and increases the need for the post-pandemic recovery to be more sustainable, while contributing to reducing inequalities, through a fairer distribution of resources.
Responding to the challenges posed by climate change and investing in affordable sustainable energy production with a view to the so-called Green Transition to carbon neutrality, depends on responding to the implications that the necessary transformations will have on communities, especially those that are more vulnerable and in situations of greater marginalization.
In the context of the Presidency Project “Towards an open, fair and sustainable Europe” implemented by the Portuguese NGDO Platform with VENRO, SLOGA and CONCORD Europe, it is crucial to promote a debate on the aspects that, from the point of view of Civil Society, should be considered in the reflection about the EU’s role in building shared solutions for sustainable development – in particular related with the African continent.
This debate was addressed today during the webinar “The role of the private sector in the transition to a green, fair and sustainable economy”, when the paper “The Africa-EU relations and the Green, Just and Sustainable Transition” was presented. The paper seeks to highlight the dilemmas and challenges that the Green Transition poses globally, and particularly to the African continent, around two main issues: the imperative to make the green transition a fair and sustainable transition and the role of the EU in building solutions for mobilizing the necessary funding.