Climate Finance: Tony Elumelu to meets King Charles III and President Biden
By Patience Ikpeme
The Chairman of Heirs Holdings,Tony Elumelu has been invited to join King Charles III of the United Kingdom and U.S. President Biden at the Climate Finance Mobilisation Forum in London.
This is part of efforts to attract $1 trillion annually by 2030 to combat climate change. Elumelu is a well-known advocate for equitable climate finance and a leading funder of young African entrepreneurs committed to creating sustainable climate solutions through the Tony Elumelu Foundation.
Elumelu believes that Africa needs a just, fair, equal, and realistic strategy to address the inequalities that exist between Africa and the rest of the world.
Africa has a significant energy deficit and must prioritize the provision of a mix of both traditional and renewable energy.
However, emerging economies, especially in Africa, will require an additional $1 trillion of investment per annum by 2030 to support a fair transition.
To mobilize this scale of capital, the world needs bold actions and innovative new partnerships between public, private, and philanthropic actors.
Elumelu has always argued that Africa has contributed the least to today’s climate crisis but continues to suffer an outsized impact of climate change.
He was invited to represent the African private sector at the forum by Grant Sharps, the UK Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, and John Kerry, the US Special Presidential Envoy on Climate.
Elumelu believes that climate finance investment should deploy capital to a mix of on and off-grid solutions that are necessary to deliver affordable, reliable, and accessible power in Africa.
This meeting follows Elumelu’s participation in the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact in Paris, hosted by Emmanuel Macron, the French President.
The Summit laid the groundwork for a new financial system suited to the challenges of the 21st century, boosting investments in green infrastructure and creating innovative solutions to climate vulnerability.