Climate Activists Have Won Another Victory—Just Not for Africa
Why Macron's $100 Billion Aid Pledge Is a Sham
I’m supposed to be wild with joy.
I should be bouncing off the walls like a kid who just got what they wanted for their birthday. At least, that’s what the news tells me…
Why? Because French President Emmanuel Macron pledged $100 billion in aid at the Paris Summit.
This pledge certainly makes Macron look good. It makes climate activists happy, because their cause is getting a ton of attention. And it even makes executives jump for joy, because there will be pipelines of money gushing in. Yippee!
But as an African, I see it for the charade it is.
Everyone wins, except Africans.
I know this may sound cynical or like I’ve got a grudge against Macron or climate activists. I don’t.
The fact of the matter is, that $100 billion will fail to bring prosperity to our people. It won’t spur progress or even marginally improve the lives of most Africans.
Here’s why.
Let’s assume that the $100 billion actually gets paid—already a big assumption. Will some of that money go to Africa? Sure. Leaders and people in their immediate networks will be flush with new funding.
But how will this play out for the majority of Africans? Let’s do some math.
Suppose that of that $100 billion, half of it ($50B) gets directed to African governments (a high estimate). Now, suppose that the leaders and their entourage suck up only $10 billion (a low estimate). Of the remaining $40 billion, 3/4 will likely go to foreign companies. That leaves only $10 billion for Africans—spread across 54 countries and 1.3 billion people.
Even though I’m being incredibly generous with my estimates here, that means that the average African worker will see less than $8 added to their wages.
My real estimate is that the vast majority will see zero.
I know exactly what critics will say:
“Those Western and Chinese companies that win contracts are going to leave behind green energy and other relevant infrastructures. That’s what will improve the lives of ordinary Africans!”
Here’s my reply: Not really.
Because whatever technology they put in place, it still has to meet people’s needs.
What good are millions of additional solar collectors, when what women really need is a safe way to cook for their families? Will having bookoos of solar panels provide clean cooking facilities? Will those panels fuel fires better than charcoal, biomass, or kerosene?
Between 1 and 2 million women die every year because of indoor air pollution. That’s because they’re cooking with fuels that scorch their lungs everyday.
These women don’t need a fancy slate of solar gadgets. They need a safe, affordable, and readily available fuel alternative—which, for the record, is already out there: propane. But God forbid that we ever suggest providing fossil fuel to these women! How could the world possibly cope?
Here’s the truth that Macron and everyone celebrating his pledge won’t tell you:
Saving lives is way less sexy than getting to flaunt the number of solar panels you’ve provided.
That money - that $100 billion - is just a sham. There is no way that any of it will make a real difference for African workers and their families. Africans will continue to suffer and die, just as they have for decades.
Meanwhile, climate activists will praise themselves for a job well done, and a small coterie of African leaders, their friends, and Western and Chinese entrepreneurs will walk away with padded pockets. Yes, these folks may have won another victory—but the African people will still lose.
Aid is not the way forward for Africa.
Our continent will only prosper when we are taken seriously on our own terms—not on the terms of people with more political agendas than common sense.
—Magatte Wade
We Africans are not pawns in a political publicity game. We are innovative, talented people hungry for real opportunities.
Grand political gestures be damned. What I demand is real change. Real support for African entrepreneurs and African families. I want to set our sights, not on aid, but on creating lasting progress and prosperity.
That is my mission. And if you believe in it, I ask you to join this movement.