By Victor Ahiuma-Young
For three days, the heart of Africa’s trade union movement was in Nairobi, Kenya, as workers’ representatives from across the continent, alongside international partners and other stakeholders, gathered to confront one of the defining questions of Africa’s future: how can the continent achieve a green energy transition without leaving workers and communities behind?
The Second New Energy for Africa Convening, organised by the International Trade Union Confederation-Africa, ITUC-Africa, brought together participants from trade unions affiliated with the continental labour body, as well as international partners and other actors in the energy and climate space.
From the deliberations came a clear and recurring message: Africa’s transition to clean energy must be more than a shift from fossil fuels to renewable sources.
It must become a pathway to industrialisation, decent jobs, fair wages, social protection and affordable electricity for millions of Africans still excluded from reliable energy access.
