African countries can avoid CO2-intensvie growth path – German-African business association

African countries present a great greenhouse gas emissions mitigation potential and can grow economically without relying on CO2-intensive activities, German-African Business Association (Afrika-Verein der deutschen Wirtschaft) President Stefan Liebing told news agency Reuters ahead of the "Compact with Africa" investor conference hosted by the German government on 19 November in Berlin. "We must prevent Africa from developing like China or India. There is huge mitigation potential in the area of climate action," said Liebing. "State-supported action in Africa is more important than installing a third pane of glass in Germany."
German development cooperation minister Gerd Müller (CSU) told German newspaper Passauer Neue Presse that Africa represented "enormous demand potential" for climate investments. By encouraging German businesses to invest, "we are making a significant contribution to international climate action and strengthening our technological leadership for renewable energies”, said Müller. Handelsblatt reported that Müller's ministry planned to increase its budget dedicated to climate action on the African continent next year.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is hosting the G20 Compact with Africa summit in Berlin on 19 November as part of an initiative that was started at the 2017 G20 summit in Hamburg to promote private investment in Africa. The compact has so far fallen short of expectations, Deutsche Welle reported. In her opening remarks at the summit, Merkel said that a lot still had to be done, adding: "The decision to invest in Africa remains a decision by the private sector, but we can help and build trust."