Welcome to Green Rising – President Donald Trump has not given up on Africa. 

This week he is hosting five African heads of state at the White House. But it's a very different scene from the last such shindig under his predecessor. "Trade, not aid," is the by-now tired headline. 

Here are five visiting leaders representing 2% of Africa's population (Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, Senegal). None of the major economic players came. South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt and Ethiopia are increasingly focused on China. And as such they face high US tariffs. 

China is no more interested in giving aid than Trump. But the volume of trade is different -- as are the tariffs (going towards 0%). China continues to ramp up production of renewable energy products and electric vehicles at a scale that is hard to fathom.

Beijing is building 74% of all current global solar and wind projects - that’s more than 500 Gigawatts (where 1 GW roughly powers 1m people). 

A generation from now, or sooner, Chinese tech will power most African grids and run many of its vehicles, in the same way that Africa’s electronics are already Chinese.

America is committing an act of enormous strategic self-harm when it comes to cleantech.

Veteran US commentator Thomas Friedman writes: “Can you hear it — that roar coming from the East? It’s the sound of 1.4 billion Chinese laughing.”

They can’t believe their luck, he suggests. America is throwing away many of the levers that made it a driver in the energy transition. 

Long-term financial incentives to grow battery capacity are ended overnight. Same for solar and wind. Because sun and weather are “liberal”. 

All to beef up fossil fuels – deemed conservative. Meanwhile even Saudi Arabia invests in renewable energy sources. 

America’s turn has significant strategic implications for Africa and its economic and environmental future.

New power generation sources and revamped grids are still on the cards. The same for electric mobility. Even green hydrogen is only minorly impacted. 

If it’s industrial, it’s going ahead. But the promise of the green economy, as sketched out in recent years by imaginative leaders in Africa and America, encompassed much more. 

Decarbonisation was to reach across many business sectors, powered by innovative climate finance, and creating new kinds of jobs. 

That looks a little more doubtful now. None of it was mentioned in Washington this week. 

America is still a powerful sponsor, not least thanks to its influence at multilateral finance institutions. Just with different goals.

Now what? This is a fundamental shift for the green economy – not the end of it. Europe matters even more now. So far, its priorities have changed much less.

But the answer will ultimately need to come from Africa. The Climate Summit in Addis Ababa in September seems an obvious place to chart a new direction. 

It should include a democracy moat. China’s record on transparency and governance doesn’t match its vim in wind and solar. The green economy must not be subsumed into a global authoritarian project. 

Perhaps the trickiest question it faces is not addressed to engineers or financiers but policy-makers: How to deal with a potential client relationship with a highly autocratic China, one that has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty at home, but also locks up millions of people for expressing their opinion?

Number of the week 

... annually is the estimated hidden cost of the global food system’s environmental damage and public health impact, as highlighted in a UNEP and Chatham House report that identifies major barriers like the “cheaper food” paradigm, market consolidation, and entrenched investments, blocking sustainable agribusiness transformation.

Network corner

What we’re reading

• Fingerprint breakthrough: A revolutionary chemical method will help to distinguish elephant ivory from legal mammoth ivory using isotopic signatures. The technique analyses hydrogen and oxygen isotopes in tusks, revealing the contrasting environments where elephants and mammoths lived thousands of years apart. (Africa News)

• Dam right: The Ethiopian government has announced the completion of the 5 GW Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), Africa's largest hydro plant. It has long fuelled tensions with Egypt and Sudan over water rights. But it now enables Ethiopia to significantly expand its role as a regional power exporter, having recently inked a supply deal with Tanzania. (Renewables Rising)

• Home made: Nigeria is getting Africa’s biggest panel manufacturing plant. Manufacturing firm Tranos has commenced construction of an 800 MW solar PV panel factory in Ogun State. It will increase Nigeria’s total solar manufacturing capacity to 1,100 MW, meeting more than half the current import demand for solar panels. (Renewables Rising)

Top green jobs from…

• GEAPP: Director, Government Enablement/ CDMUs (Kenya)

• Solar Panda: Managing Director (Zambia)

• BURN Manufacturing: Country Manager, Biomass (Malawi)

• d.light: Head of Operations (Tanzania)

• Metro Africa Xpress: Business Development Manager (Nigeria)

• SNV: Executive Administration Officer (Uganda)

• GGGI: Green Investment Senior Officer (Rwanda)

• Baker Hughes: Lead Technical Support Manager (Angola)

• Aptiv: HR Development Coordinator (Morocco)

• One Acre Fund: Gender Consultant (Burundi)