Vol 64 No 22

Published 2nd November 2023

China, Europe and the US mull tariff war amid scramble for Africa's green minerals

20 Oct 2023

PREVIEW

Corporate rivalries and geopolitical tensions disrupt markets for electric vehicles | Special Report by Tim Concannon

Expectations for the UN COP28 Climate summit in Dubai next month are muted because their host is a leading fossil fuel economy and because of rising geopolitical tensions.

This year's United States Inflation Reduction Act by President Joe Biden's administration includes hundreds of billions of dollars of green financing in a law to protect US jobs and companies.

Now European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen plans a similar measure to protect European manufacturers of electric vehicles from what she thinks is susbsidised competition from China.

Our climate editor, Tim Concannon looks at the implications of these rivalries for African economies which supply many of the critical green minerals.

For a detailed analysis of these shifts, read our Special Report here: China, Europe and the US mull tariff war amid scramble for Africa's green minerals

Prepared for Free Article on 03/12/2025 at 23:07. Authorized users may download, save, and print articles for their own use, but may not further disseminate these articles in their electronic form without express written permission from Africa Confidential / Asempa Limited. Contact subscriptions@africa-confidential.com.

Vol 65 No 13 |

AFRICA
CLIMATE CHANGE

Stalemate on climate finance talks irks African negotiators

19th June 2024

After technical negotiations over green transition funds in Bonn hit a deadlock, talks are to resume at the UN General Assembly in September

Despite hopes of progress on climate finance for Africa at recent UN negotiations, an impasse emerged at the interim SB60 meeting held in Bonn, Germany from 3 to...

Vol 66 No 22 |

Brussels backs down on forest laws again

29th October 2025

The EU’s anti-deforestation laws show how badly drafted climate policy can alienate everyone – farmers, traders and consumers

Chaos surrounds the European Union’s anti-deforestation regulation. Following a series of U-turns and carve outs, the law will not affect African farmers until June 2026, 18 months later...

Vol 65 No 24 |

UNITED NATIONS
CLIMATE CHANGE

Cosplay at the COP29 – a climate finance summit without numbers

22nd November 2024

By failing to agree on a new cash target, the Baku delegates are acting in character but could break up the UN climate bargaining process

The failure by delegates to agree on the core climate finance target at the Baku summit would risk a breakdown as serious as the collapse of the UN...

Vol 66 No 14 |

Bonn summit exposes rifts and inertia on climate action

8th July 2025

Geopolitical rivalries are sinking the UN treaty to cut carbon emissions and protect developing economies ahead of the Brazil summit in November

The UN’s preparatory climate summit in Bonn from 16-26 June offered a grim portent of what may happen in the main event – the UN COP30 climate summit...

Vol 63 No 23 |

Delegates haggle in Egypt as the planet burns

17th November 2022

African leaders argued for the continent's fossil fuels at the UN COP27 summit amid fierce debates over energy access and compensation for climate change

That the UN's climate summit in Sharm el Sheikh has been popularised as the 'African COP' owes as much to the strong African focus of the negotiations as...

READ FOR FREE

SEARCH

Become a subscriber today to read our articles in full.

Find out more

Issue archive

Looking for a specific issue? Search our online archive of over two decades of Africa Confidential

Volume:

Number: