Africa’s role in the global pivot toward cleaner sources of energy should focus on increasing the supply of critical minerals needed to make the transition, rather than on reducing its own negligible emissions, according to the president of the Africa Finance Corp.

“Africa doesn’t emit enough greenhouse gas” to meaningfully impact on climate change, accounting for less than 4% of the global total, Samaila Zubairu told the Financing Africa Forward Summit in Johannesburg on Wednesday.

“We can’t stop emissions that we don’t make.”

Of the 680-million people globally who lack electricity, 570-million are in sub-Saharan Africa, one of the biggest impediments to growth and development in the region.

The continent should do more to increase its output of hydropower to drive economic development: Just 11% of a potential 340 gigawatts of capacity have being developed, Zubairu said. The continent also has vast reserves of undeveloped natural gas that could all be utilised and would only lift global emissions by less than 1%, he added.