UAE becomes Africa’s biggest investor amid rights concerns
Share:
Activists alarmed at emirati companies’ poor record on labour rights and fear projects may fail to address environmental concerns. The United Arab Emirates has become the largest backer of new business projects in Africa, raising hopes of a rush of much-needed money for green energy, but also concerns that the investments could compromise the rights of workers and environmental protections.
Between 2019 and 2023, Emirati companies announced $110bn (£88bn) of projects, $72bn of them in renewable energy, according to FT Locations, a data company owned by the Financial Times. The pledges were more than double the value of those made by companies from the UK, France or China, which pulled back from big-ticket infrastructure investment projects in Africa after many failed to deliver expected returns. African leaders were also disappointed with climate finance pledges by western governments. At the Cop29 climate conference, for example, wealthy countries promised $300bn annually, whereas developing countries had demanded $1.3 tn.
Although African leaders have welcomed the increased interest from the Emiratis, some activists and analysts have expressed fears that the UAE’s poor record on labour rights for migrant workers, continued support for hydrocarbons and failure to address environmental issues will characterise its investments in Africa.
“African countries are in dire need of this money [for] their own energy transitions. And they plug huge holes, the Emirati investors, that the west failed to,” said Ahmed Aboudouh, an associate fellow at the Chatham House thinktank. “But at the same time they come in with less attention to labour rights, to environmental standards.”.
