Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is launching the Centre for Climate & Just Transition in Africa as part of its global focus on helping companies and governments accelerate their climate and sustainability journeys.
“Both Climate and Africa are priorities for BCG globally, and that is why we are launching our Centre for Climate & Just Transition in Africa, with the purpose of unlocking the full potential of Africa to advance climate action and a Just Transition,” says Lucas Chaumontet, managing director and partner at BCG, Johannesburg.
Africa – and South Africa – is disproportionately exposed to the risks posed by climate change. Increased climate volatility, rising water scarcity and the occurrence of extreme events such as droughts and floods will have a devastating effect on local livelihoods and regional food systems. The recent floods in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa bear testament to this.
Losing Indigenous Knowledge on Climate Change Pauses Risk in Food Security
The Centre will work to address the impact of climate change and accelerate progress toward net-zero while ensuring a Just Transition by focusing on three key priorities:
- Co-creating an aligned national and continental climate fact base to help alignment, decision, and cooperation among key stakeholders
- Mobilising forces to build and scale globally competitive green industries to improve the economic context, which is critical to achieving a Just Transition
- Developing critical capabilities within the public and private sectors to drive local leadership and ownership in African countries in this journey
“Through the Centre, global and local experts from the public and private sectors and across the sustainability spectrum will engage, share knowledge and be able to access a vast library of relevant tools to achieve these aims. By bringing together a full suite of mitigation, adaptation and just transition capabilities to a broad set of industries and governments across the continent we will be able to accelerate impact in the climate space,” says Chaumontet.
Our Centre has already more than 50 core members across Africa and is led by a passionate team, with responsibilities across countries and topics. The leadership team is all based in Africa and the vast majority are Africans, consistently with our ambition to unlock the full potential of Africa.
Enabling the transition through creativity, innovation and collaboration
“Achieving this will require creativity, innovation, and collaboration, and we will continue to partner with governments, leading companies and civil society to help reach these climate and sustainability goals”, says Chaumontet.