- Standard Bank expects the electricity constraint to boost over the next 18 months.
- Africa contributes the least to climate change but faces the most risk.
Standard Bank, Africa’s biggest lender by assets, has said Sub-Saharan Africa, the most vulnerable region in the world to the effects of climate change, needs a great deal more investment in energy and infrastructure.
Standard Bank CEO Sim Tshabalala told the Institute of International Finance (IIF) annual membership meeting in Marrakech that climate change is one of the most significant risks facing the sub-Saharan region today despite Africa having contributed the least.
The IIF annual membership meeting forms part of the all-important annual meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund. The IIF is the global banking industry’s premier trade group, and the meeting brought together central bankers, policymakers, and top finance executives to discuss critical issues, including the global economic outlook, climate transition finance and emerging market debt.
Tshabalala said some of the most pressing constraints were in the region’s most industrialised and diversified economy – South Africa. “But there is good news. The electricity market has been liberalised, and many new investments have followed. With the new capacity installations ongoing, Standard Bank’s experts are confident that the electricity constraint will begin to lift over the next 18 months – and indeed, there are early signs of improvement,” he said.