🇪🇺 The EU calls it a “win-win.” But what does Europe’s Green Deal really mean for Africa?
In this episode, we unpack the hidden costs of Europe’s climate transition. From the critical mineral rush in the Democratic Republic of Congo to new green hydrogen corridors across the continent, we look at how Africa is being asked to pay the cost of the transition without having a say
In this episode, we hear from:
🔋 Emmanuel Umpula, Executive Director of AFREWATCH who exposes how cobalt mining in the DRC is fuelling a silent health crisis—and propping up a deadly conflict.
🌍 Samia Dumbuya, climate justice activist and researcher, on why Europe’s green transition risks repeating colonial patterns of debt, extraction and exclusion.
💼 Paul Okumu, political economist, on the EU’s Global Gateway, the debt trap behind it, and how Africa is being boxed in by geopolitics disguised as green development policy.
🎙️ With critical minerals in high demand, energy corridors mapped in secret, and lofty climate goals resting on uneven partnerships—this episode asks: is the EU’s Green Deal just another kind of green colonialism?
Recorded in December 2024, this season finale of The Frontline Speaks brings sharp analysis and grounded perspectives to one of the most pressing questions in climate justice today.
🔔 Subscribe now and join us every week as we bring you the stories that need to be heard—because when the media goes dark, Frontline Speaks.
🎧 A podcast by 1.2 Diaries, supported by the Africa-Europe Foundation’s Youth Awards. The show is executive produced by Jennifer Kwao and co-hosted with Krystel Sil Sikana. Our producer is Seden Anlar. Lydia Ayame Hiraide is our consulting writer and researcher. Our proofreader is Serag Heiba.
Resources
https://www.somo.nl/the-eus-critical-minerals-crusade/
https://www.channel4.com/programmes/unreported-world/on-demand/72426-004
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/29/world/congo-cobalt-albert-yuma-mulimbi.htmlÂ
https://africasacountry.com/2024/08/resisting-the-new-green-colonialismÂ
https://counter-balance.org/publications/who-profits-from-the-global-gateway-the-eus-new-strategy-for-development-cooperation
