Climate Action

4iAfrica, an innovation driven solutions provider which pivoted from the renewable energy sector to focus on developing Climate Change Solutions took the top spot for SDG#15 - Life On Land at last week’s prestigious SDG Awards by EUTech. 4iAfrica's winning application is one of the largest and most sustainable NBS - Nature Based Climate Action Solutions in the world which has the proven capability of removing gigatons of CO2 while addressing the key issues of food insecurity, land/soil transformation, health, poverty and unemployment all at the same time! 4iAfrica’s CEO and Founder, Al Karaki, said, “While 4iAfrica leverages and innovates technology to provide most of its solutions, research indicated that in the case of climate change, there were essentially two options: Climate Technology and Nature Based Solutions. The ClimateTech sector is relatively new as a response to large scale intervention of keeping to the 1.5 degree pathway whereas NBS has been keeping global warming and CO2 emissions under control for centuries. The clock was ticking fast – we had to make the decision of which pathway to choose and based on what we knew and the research, 4iAfrica threw its efforts behind NBS. ClimateTech while still in the nascent stages, will be a welcome partner in the Fight Against Climate Change and in the near future you will see a strong hybrid alliance between Nature and Tech.” AGR consists of three pillars: 1. Aquaponics4Africa – provision of basic hydroponic equipment and training to schools and communities; 2. Vertical Food Farms – the super-sized version of Aquaponics which leverages indoor space such as warehouses to grow 100x more food than traditional farming while using less than 10% of the water that standard farming requires; 3. Seeds of Change – the mass planting of specially selected plant species which have high carbon sequestering properties and can also be transformed into nutrient dense protein rich food, medicine and hundreds of eco-friendly products. Thus far, the crop selection consists of: · Halophytes are plants that grow in brackish sea water which could play a key role in restoring land and communities in the Sahel area. · Bamboo, with the help of science in developing special strains and · Industrial Hemp (not marijuana). An online search on industrial hemp has surprised many researchers as it sequests more CO2 than the majority of plants, including trees, takes a mere 120 days from seed to harvest, grows in harsher conditions and has the versatility to produce a wide range of healthy and environmentally friendly products which include: o highly nutritious and protein dense food o affordable medicine o organic fertiliser o net zero building materials and non chemical insulation o bio energy and bio plastic which is currently in use by the majority of large automakers for their car bodies and parts By leveraging our entire supply chain we can combat poverty and unemployment by providing millions of job opportunities where they are needed the most. Goal 15 is about conserving life on land. It focuses on protecting, restoring and promoting sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably managing forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halting biodiversity loss. Our innovation solution positively impacts Climate Change Action, partnerships and most in not all of the other SDG goals. Due to the scale and magnitude of AGR, we formally invite any and all countries, institutions, civil society, communities and people to collaborate and partner together with us to ensure that together we innovate from a multi-challenged world to prosperity and opportunities for all.