_By Abbas Nazil_
Africa must fundamentally shift the way it positions itself within global economic and geopolitical frameworks by properly valuing its vast natural capital, according to Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina, President of the African Development Bank Group.
Delivering a keynote lecture at the 14th Convocation Ceremony of the National Open University of Nigeria on April 11, 2025, Adesina emphasized that Africa is “nature rich but cash poor” due to chronic undervaluation of its environmental assets.
Dr. Adesina outlined the urgent need for Africa to re-estimate its gross domestic product (GDP) by accounting for its green wealth, including forests, carbon sinks, and other ecosystem services.
He revealed that while Africa’s GDP in 2018 was valued at $2.5 trillion, its natural capital was conservatively estimated at $6.2 trillion.
If properly valued, Africa’s GDP would increase significantly, enhancing its credit ratings, lowering debt-to-GDP ratios, and improving borrowing capacity for development projects.
He highlighted the critical importance of Africa’s environmental assets in tackling global climate change.
For instance, the Congo River Basin — the world’s second-largest carbon sink after the Amazon — spans 314 million hectares and houses primary forests and peatlands that store about 29 billion tons of carbon.
This amount is equivalent to three years of global greenhouse gas emissions. Despite its crucial contribution, Africa receives little financial return for this environmental service.
According to preliminary estimates by the African Development Bank, the continent’s nominal GDP in 2022 could have risen by $66.1 billion if only carbon sequestration had been properly accounted for.
However, he warned of a growing threat to Africa’s natural wealth, which he described as the largest “carbon grab” in history.
Wealthy nations are acquiring vast tracts of African land at low prices to claim carbon credits. While carbon footprints cost over $200 per ton in Europe, the price in Africa is often as low as $3 to $5 per ton.
This undervaluation has serious consequences: African countries are underpaid for their carbon assets, they lose sovereignty over land, and the carbon captured cannot be used in calculating national contributions to climate goals or in revaluing GDP.
Dr. Adesina cautioned that these deals represent a lose-lose scenario for African nations and must be critically re-evaluated.
To counteract this trend, the African Development Bank is spearheading a new framework to re-calculate Africa’s GDP based on its environmental capital.
The goal is to ensure Africa’s natural assets are leveraged for the continent’s wealth creation and sustainable development.
Encouragingly, the African Union has approved the inclusion of green environmental capital in national economic assessments.
Adesina concluded by expressing optimism that this shift in valuation will attract more financial resources, promote green investments, and help Africa become not only green-rich but also cash-rich, fundamentally transforming its development trajectory and global standing.