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Beyond Energy: Why AI’s Material Backbone Matters — and Why Africa Must Be Central to Any Sustainable AI Strategy

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Source: enb.iisd.org At this week’s United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA7) in Nairobi, leaders will explore how to balance the benefits from Artificial Intelligence (AI) with its planetary footprint. This aside, there are already ongoing debates about how the sustainability of artificial intelligence tends to focus on energy use — the enormous electricity demands of training large models and the water needed for cooling. Energy tells only part of the story. Beneath every AI system sits a vast, mostly invisible network of minerals and materials: cobalt, copper, nickel, manganese, rare earths, silicon, and the semiconductors that bind them together. These resources shape ecological outcomes and global power dynamics just as profoundly as AI’s hunger for electricity (IEA, 2023). What makes materials so crucial today is the geopolitical context. Supply chains for critical minerals are heavily concentrated. A few actors dominate semiconductor fabrication; China controls key stages ...
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Nigeria launches Africa’s 1st AI tool to track carbon emissions I PULSE

The groundbreaking initiative, developed by the Aid for Rural Education Access Initiative (AREAi) in collaboration with the UK Government’s Digital Access Programme (DAP), was unveiled at a high-profile workshop in Abuja on Tuesday, March 18. CarbonTrac.ai provides users with a simple way to input their daily technology usage—such as internet consumption, the number of devices they own, and energy use— to generate a carbon footprint score. The tool is designed to help individuals, businesses, and technology startups assess their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and take steps toward reducing their environmental impact.  Read the full article:  https://www.pulse.ng/articles/news/local/nigeria-launches-africas-1st-ai-tool-to-track-carbon-emissions-2025031915392730173
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Beyond the Grid: How AI and Digitalisation Are Lighting Up Africa’s Energy Future

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Trainees prepare to install a PV panel at  Don Bosco Primary School Namugongo  (Photo:  Salesian Missionaries in AGL Province) At the Renewable Energy Conference and Expo 2025 (REC25 & Expo), October 20-22, 2025, in Kampala, one theme has stood out above the rest — the transformative power of digitalisation and artificial intelligence (AI) in shaping Africa’s energy future. As experts discussed smarter grids and data-driven energy systems, 34-year-old electrical engineer Grace from Arua City (West Nile region) was already living that future. Each morning, she scans her tablet to check the performance of rows of solar panels stretching toward the horizon. What once required days of manual checks now takes minutes — thanks to an AI-powered monitoring system that predicts faults and keeps clean energy flowing. For Grace, this technology isn’t just innovation; it’s empowerment. Across Africa, stories like Grace’s are beginning to take root as digitalisation and AI reshape...
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From Africa to the World: AI Solutions Lighting the Path to Climate Resilience

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In a world grappling with record heatwaves, floods, and droughts, technology is emerging not as a distant luxury but as a vital ally in the fight against climate change. The AI for Climate Action Award celebrates this powerful intersection between human creativity and artificial intelligence, spotlighting innovators using open-source AI to accelerate both climate adaptation and mitigation. This year’s AI for Climate Action Award 2025, hosted by the UNFCCC Technology Executive Committee (TEC), in partnership with the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA)—in collaboration with Brazil and Enterprise Neurosystem—showcased the next generation of climate technology trailblazers. What made this year’s competition particularly inspiring was the strong showing from Africa. Out of four global finalists, three hailed from the continent: · Tehila Mwenda (Zambia) · Careen Joel (Tanzania) · Hannah Rhodah (Uganda) Each brought unique ideas...
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Nature Meets the Algorithm: How AI Could Safeguard (or Endanger) East Africa’s Biodiversity

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Giraffes in Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda (Photo: Kimbowa R) Technology, such as remote sensing and data analytics, enhances real-time monitoring, enabling proactive conservation efforts. This ensures the protection of diverse ecosystems, preserves critical habitats, and mitigates threats, ultimately leading to the sustained health of ecosystems and the preservation of endangered species (UNSSC & UNEP, 2025). Opportunities to address biodiversity loss (one of the planetary crises of global concern) have gained traction, leading to the recently agreed Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. The Framework seeks to respond to the Global Assessment Report of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services issued by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (2019), the fifth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook (2020), and many other scientific documents that provide ample evidence that, despite ongoing efforts, biodiversity is deteri...
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South Africa turns to AI to fight air pollution I CGTN Africa

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Researchers in South Africa have developed an AI system to track air quality in real time. The technology could save lives and help reduce respiratory illnesses.
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WTO Session to Unpack Critical Issues Around Africa’s Engagement in Digital Trade and AI Governance

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On September 18, 2025, a session is organised by the World Trade Organisation to explore how Africa is shaping its digital trade future through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Digital Trade Protocol, engagement in WTO e-commerce discussions, and the Continental Artificial Intelligence Strategy. It will examine the Africa region’s priorities on data governance, local value creation, and inclusive digital markets, while assessing risks of fragmentation across regimes. Speakers will consider how African countries can assert greater agency in global digital rulemaking and align trade, technology, and development strategies. The session provides a forward-looking perspective on what a fair and inclusive global digital trade architecture could look like from the African and Global South perspectives. This session will bring together key African negotiators, policymakers, and civil society leaders to unpack critical issues around Africa’s engagement in digital trade...
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