- Sahara Group urges African nations to scale up nature-based solutions to unlock climate finance, strengthen adaptation and build resilience.
- The company is restoring forests and mangroves across multiple countries and preparing for new global sustainability disclosure standards.
The Sahara Group has urged Africa to scale up its use of nature-based solutions. The energy conglomerate stated that the approach is crucial for unlocking climate finance and enhancing adaptation across the continent. During COP30 in Belém, Tejumade Tejuoso, Governance and Sustainability Manager, urged African countries to establish systems that safeguard people, livelihoods, and ecosystems.
She explained that Africa faces a critical moment to strengthen resilience and secure suitable financing. In her view, the continent must transition in a way that is just, responsible and centred on development. She stressed that Africa contributes little to global emissions. Yet, it suffers disproportionate climate impacts, which increases the urgency for funded, responsible and development-aligned action.
Furthermore, she said global climate negotiations offer an opportunity for African governments and private-sector actors to secure fair financing, expand adaptation efforts and improve climate-risk preparedness. She highlighted Sahara Group’s ‘Adopt-a-Forest’ initiative as a significant component of its nature-based work. Through this programme, the company aims to restore key forest and mangrove ecosystems and plant at least one million trees.
She outlined ongoing efforts across the continent. In Côte d’Ivoire, the company is restoring a 34-hectare arboretum and upgrading facilities at Banco National Park. In Nigeria, it has planted nearly 24,000 trees. Ghana is rehabilitating 15 hectares of degraded land in the Juaso District. In Kenya, Sahara is strengthening mangrove restoration. Across Cameroon and Tanzania, the group supports forest recovery programmes.
According to her, these projects rebuild natural ecosystems, enhance carbon sequestration capacity, and improve community resilience. She added that Sahara plans to adopt even more forest areas to help stabilise the climate.
In addition, she noted that the group is preparing for the new global sustainability disclosure standards (IFRS S1 and S2). These standards, she said, will become mandatory for public-interest entities by 2028. She confirmed that Sahara is already assessing its gaps and embedding the standards across its operations to remain ahead of global requirements.