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Africa-Europe Cooperation for the Green Transition

As the urgency to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the green transition intensifies, forging new pathways for transformative change is imperative. Collaboration and innovat on are essential to develop fit-for-purpose solutions that meet today’s pressing development and sustainability challenges. 

The Africa-Europe Cooperation for the Green Transition certificate programme, co designed and delivered by Sciences Po Executive Education and the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance at the University of Cape Town, equips practitioners from all over the world to shape Afro-European developmental cooperation and advance the structural transformation of the African continent.

Overview

Intended Participants

Managers and executives in the public sector, in non- governmental organisations, and in impact-driven international businesses will gain the tools and insights needed to address current sustainable development and transition challenges.

Objectives

This certificate addresses issues of public policy making, climate-resilient development, and sustainable finance, all within the framework of Afro-European cooperation and in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Its objective is to identify the most relevant levers of cooperation between the two continents and strategic development pathways to build a shared and sustainable future. 

By the end of the programme, you will be able to:

  • Identify the levers of transformative change toward sustainability and Africa’s green structural transformation, whether driven by technology, public policy, market innovation, or citizen engagement
  • Draw on Africa-Europe relations to advance the green transition
  • Design and implement public policies or business strategies that place sustainability and equitable development at their core
  • Design or scale structurally transformative practices within participants’ organizations and professional environment
  • Communicate effectively and advocate for sustainability, the just transition and development
  • Understand Africa’s most pressing development and sustainability challenges and generate fit for purpose solutions to address them

Programme

This training is an online certificate programme combining asynchronous learning through a variety of digital resources (articles, interactive materials, videos, quizzes, forum discussions) and live online sessions (3 hour Masterclass and 1 hour seminar session per week). Assessment is based on individual written reflections and a group negotiation simulation, providing a concrete validation of acquired skills.

  • African Sustainable Development, narratives, perspectives
  • Climate Compatible Structural Transformation in Africa
  • Geopolitical and economic framing of Africa’s structural transformation challenge
  • Green Policy Spillovers
  • Governing energy transitions: geopolitics, regulation and policy 
  • Renewables and just transition: pathways and case studies
  • Relationship between economic development and trade
  • Impact of climate change on trade in Africa
  • Facilitated group work during 1 hr live slot
  • Adapting projects and institutions to a changing climate 
  • Advancing the green transition agenda: innovation & ecosystem-based strategies
  • Global financial architecture
  • Financing & the Role of African DFIs
  • The AfCFTA & regional green structural transformation
  • African green sector opportunities & challenges
  • European regional integration and policy frameworks
  • Dynamics of Africa-Europe relations: cooperation and challenges
  • Through a real-world negotiation simulation, participants will build their negotiation skills and critically examine impacts of European policies on both Europe and Africa.

Teaching Staff

Charlotte Halpern

Researcher at Sciences Po's Centre for European Studies and Comparative Politics (CEE) and Director of the Institute for Environmental Transformations

Charlotte Halpern holds a DEA and a PhD (2006) in Political Science and is a researcher at the Centre for European Studies and Comparative Politics at Sciences Po. Her research focuses on the transformations of governance and public policies in Europe and South America, environmental policies and ecological transition, mobility, and urban infrastructure. In addition to her own research topics, she is a member of the scientific council of Ihédate and the steering committee of CIERA, contributes to research activities including the "Energy Transition(s)" seminar (CEE), the "State and Public Policies" axis (CEE), is a member of the steering committee of CIERA, has been elected to the unit council of CEE (since 2017), the Scientific Council of Sciences Po (since 2016), and is co-representative of Sciences Po at the Centre for Earth Politics (University of Paris and Sciences Po). Within Sciences Po Executive Education, she serves as the Academic Director of the Executive Master in Territorial Governance and Urban Development.

Carlos Lopes

Honorary Professor at the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance, University of Cape Town

Professor Carlos Lopes is an Honorary Professor at the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance, University of Cape Town, a visiting Professor at Sciences Po, and Associate Fellow at Chatham House, London. He has been associated with several high-level boards, including the Global Commission for Economy and Climate and the Global Commission on the Geopolitics of Energy Transformation. He is a current member of the boards of Jakaya Kikwete Foundation, the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, the African Center for Cities Advisory Board, the Advisory Council of the African Climate Foundation, and many others. Professor Lopes is past head of several institutions at the United Nations, including the UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Secretary, Economic Commission for Africa. He has occupied prominent positions such as UN Assistant Secretary-General and Political Director for Secretary-General Kofi Annan and was appointed as African Union High Representative for Partnerships with Europe in 2018.

Faizel Ismail

Honorary Professor at the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance, University of Cape Town

Professor Carlos Lopes is an Honorary Professor at the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance, University of Cape Town, a visiting Professor at Sciences Po, and Associate Fellow at Chatham House, London. He has been associated with several high-level boards, including the Global Commission for Economy and Climate and the Global Commission on the Geopolitics of Energy Transformation. He is a current member of the boards of Jakaya Kikwete Foundation, the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, the African Center for Cities Advisory Board, the Advisory Council of the African Climate Foundation, and many others. Professor Lopes is past head of several institutions at the United Nations, including the UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Secretary, Economic Commission for Africa. He has occupied prominent positions such as UN Assistant Secretary-General and Political Director for Secretary-General Kofi Annan and was appointed as African Union High Representative for Partnerships with Europe in 2018.

Nimrod Zalk

Chief Research Officer: Climate and Development at the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance, University of Cape Town

Dr. Zalk is a development economist focused on green industrialisation and development finance in Africa. He has over 20 years’ experience in trade and industrial development research; policy formulation and implementation; and development finance. Until July 2023 he served as Deputy Director-General: Sectors in the South African Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) and as non-executive Director of the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) of South Africa. He holds an MSc and a PhD in Economics from the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies. He has authored a number of policy documents (notably South Africa’s National Industrial Policy Framework); academic publications; and opinion pieces, including on the role of development banks in African green industrialisation. He is co-founder of the annual African Programme on Rethinking Development Economics (APORDE).

Rob Davies

Former South African Minister of Trade and Industry and Member of Parliament representing the African National Congress

Dr. Rob Davies is an Honorary Professor at the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance, University of Cape Town and  holds an Honours degree in Economics from Rhodes University, a Masters in International Relations from the University of Southampton and a Doctorate from the University of Sussex. He was attached to Eduardo Mondlane University in Maputo, Mozambique from 1979 to 1990 and was Professor and Co Director of the Centre for Southern African Studies at the University of the Western Cape from 1990 until 1994. He has been a member of organisations of South Africa’s national liberation movement for more than forty years. For at least a decade before that he was an anti-apartheid activist.

Practical Information

  • Duration: 12 weeks
  • Format: Online
  • Language: English
  • This course leads to an Executive Certificate awarded by Sciences Po Executive Education and the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance, University of Cape Town.
  • Upon completion of a Sciences Po certificate programme, you'll join the extensive Sciences Po alumni community, and can also become a contributing member to the Sciences Po Alumni Association (without voting rights or eligibility for the Board of Directors).
  • Our courses can be adapted to accommodate various accessibility requirements. Please do not hesitate to contact us to discuss any necessary adjustments.

Admissions Process

Submit your application online via our admissions platform.

Once received, the application process is as follows:

  • Application review
  • Assessment and validation of eligibility by an admissions jury

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Next Start Date(s)

  • September 07, 2026

    Online

Duration

30 day(s)

12 weeks

cost

€4,000

Contact

Adriana Culotta

Programme Advisor

+ 33 (0)1 45 49 85 94 | adriana.culotta@sciencespo.fr

Contact by email