For five centuries, raw materials have flowed out of Africa and Brazil at low cost to be used as inputs elsewhere—often returning to their source countries embedded in expensive finished goods. The energy transition offers a critical opportunity to escape this extractive dynamic. The key for these economies is to leverage their vast resources, as well as mutual cooperation, to build thriving green industries of their own.
The current global energy crisis has made the energy transition all the more ur gent. Supply disruptions and rising costs have put pressure on governments, households, and businesses in many countries, weakening productivity, straining food supplies, and exacerbating economic inequality. The effects of the crisis are particularly acute in many African countries, which already struggle with persistent poverty, limited energy access, and inadequate infrastructure. Africa’s energy-producing countries are not immune, not least because they often export crude oil while importing costlier refi ned products like diesel and gasoline.
Achieving broad-based development requires a new approach, one which leverages South-South cooperation to advance green development and sustainable industrialisation. Brazil and African countries, such as Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, and Tunisia, are particularly well-suited to spearhead such a strategy, acting not only as diplomatic partners, but as co-producers of a green industrial transformation.
Since returning to the presidency in 2023, Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has emphasised the importance of South-South cooperation, not least to advance the climate and development agenda. Moreover, he has resumed official visits to African countries, such as Mozambique and South Africa, whose leaders have reciprocated with visits to Brazil. Such diplomatic initiatives have been matched by concrete cooperation in agriculture, health, education, defence, energy, and other areas. But it is in green industry that this partnership can take on real strategic significance.
Brazil and Africa have important comparative advan tages in two sectors that are central to the global energy transition. The first is critical minerals. African countries have significant reserves of cobalt, graphite, lithium, and manganese—critical inputs in batteries, electric vehicles, and renewable-energy technologies. Brazil also has reserves of graphite and lithium, as well as nickel and rare-earth elements.
Africa and Brazil also stand to benefit from some of the best conditions in the world for solar- and wind-power generation. Already, decentralised solar-power installations are proliferating in many African countries, expanding access to electricity in rural areas and ur ban peripheries. In many cases, this is a bottom-up energy transition, with families and small businesses purchasing and installing solar panels, often using pay-as-you-go solutions.
Brazil, for its part, is a global leader in biofuels and hydropower technologies. According to the IEA, the country contributes almost 7% of the world’s renewable-energy production, despite accounting for only 3% of its population and 2% of its GDP. And Brazil continues to invest heavily in expanding and “greening” energy access.
The International Renewable Energy Agency projects that the energy transition could create millions of jobs in Africa by 2030, especially in solar energy, electrical infrastructure, and green manufacturing. The same applies to Brazil, which seeks to shift its industry toward sectors linked to the low-carbon economy.
But major roadblocks remain—none greater than finance. This is particularly true for Africa, which, despite holding 60% of the world’s best solar resources, receives only about 3% of global energy investment and 2% of clean-energy investment. Alternative cooperation mechanisms and joint South-South financing initiatives, as well as increased support from development banks and greater private-sector participation, are needed to advance green industrialisation.
For too long, Africa and Latin America have served as mere suppliers of raw commodities, preventing them from achieving broad-based prosperity. By working together, however, developing economies can trans form their strategic resources into the industrial, technological, and political capacity they need to build robust, dynamic, and sustainable economies.
Assogbavi is Africa Adviser at Open Society Foundations. Ribeiro is Green Development Lead for Brazil at Global Strategic Communications Council.©PROJECT SYNDICATE