At the centre of the call for the partnership to take into account African interests is the notion of a “paradigm shift” that was touted as the new principle to guide the reform of the partnership between Africa and Europe when leaders from both continents met in 2017 in Abidjan. This paradigm shift would usher a new era in the relationship, one that moves beyond development aid as the determinant of the relationship. It would recognise the full value that Africa brings to the table. The paradigm shift would also involve a two-way dialogue rather than a top-down one led primarily by the EU. African leaders, practitioners, experts and civil society leaders have since formulated options that could help the continents realise this ambition.

We invited African thought leaders in think tanks, civil society and independent foundations, who have worked in the Africa-Europe sphere for many years to share their insights and analyses. Thought leaders were drawn from several sectors: climate change, technology, digital taxation, migration and trade. The result is this volume. On climate change, Africa as a continent contributed the least to creating the crisis, yet it is already facing the harshest of its consequences. At the same time, Africa hosts some of the natural resources required for the energy transition needed to move away from the terrible fossil fuels that caused the problem. Europe needs those minerals to power its transition. Africa needs to make sure that it can industrialize, create jobs and address the myriad of challenges thrown up by the climate emergency. Plus Africa wants to make sure that it controls the terms under which it contributes to global decarbonization efforts, considering that it is very much underresourced to do so, and if it will grow, it may have to do so without the resources to decarbonize.

You can find the full publication here.