Short Abstract

A panel on the distributional politics of Africa's digital and green transitions, centring African agency in the search for just and ecologically viable pathways.

Long Abstract

This panel asks how the twin digital and green transitions are reshaping development across the African continent. We welcome contributions that look at what transition projects deliver and what they cost, in cities and in rural areas alike: renewable energy roll-outs and nature-based solutions; AI used for sensing, forecasting and early warning; and also e-waste, the mining of critical minerals, pressure on land and water, unequal access to digital infrastructure, and displacement carried out in the name of conservation.

We are especially interested in work that follows the distributional effects and governance trade-offs of these projects — who gains, who is watched, and who pays — in fields such as energy access, climate adaptation, food systems and urban infrastructure. Interdisciplinary and mixed-methods contributions are particularly welcome.

Throughout, the panel keeps African agency at its centre: policy experimentation, community-led innovation, and place-based knowledge that point towards transition pathways that are both just and ecologically viable.

Keywords: African Development, Digital & Green Transitions, Climate Adaptation, AI-Enabled Sensing, Critical Minerals, E-waste, Just Transition Pathways

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