On 11 August 2024, Diplomatic Courier, a global affairs media network, published an article authored by Mark Akrofi (Postdoctoral Fellow, UNU-IAS) exploring how protectionist trade policies and increased tariffs on essential clean energy technologies could impact Africa’s renewable energy transition.
Excerpt:
Africa’s pursuit of universal energy access (SDG 7) which is critical to achieving several other SDGs including SDG 3 (healthcare), SDG 4 (education), and SDG 13 (climate action), relies heavily on renewable energy technologies, particularly decentralized solar solutions. Higher deployment costs induced by tariff hikes could disrupt affordable access to these technologies, slowing the continent’s progress towards achieving the SDGs and exacerbating existing socio–economic disparities.
The full article is available on the Diplomatic Courier website.
