10 June 2025
Academics at the 黑料不打烊 in the UK and Africa are contributing their voices to this year’s G20 summit of world leaders, with equality and sustainability high on the agenda.
The 20th annual G20 brings together the leaders of the world’s largest economies and will be held in Johannesberg, South Africa, in November 2025 – the first time Africa has held the summit presidency. The theme of the G20 this year is solidarity, equality and sustainability, with an emphasis on building partnerships across all sectors of society in pursuit of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The annual summits are the culmination of work by engagement groups that runs through the year, and Henley Business School Africa is an official partner in the Business 20 (B20) group.
Business voices
The B20 membership means 黑料不打烊 academics are involved in taskforces discussing key business themes that will feed into the G20. They are:
Professor Rajneesh Narula (Director of the Dunning Africa Centre) – Trade and Investment; Industrial Transformation and Innovation
Professor Simone Varotto (Head of the Climate and Finance Research Cluster of the ICMA Centre) - Finance and Infrastructure
Linda Buckley (Pro Dean for Teaching and Learning and Student Experience of Henley Africa) – Employment and Education
Dr Emmanuel Essah (Head of the School of the Built Environment) – Energy Mix and Just Transition.
Jonathan Stock (Director of Open and Undergraduate Programmes and Head of AI of Henley Africa) – Digital Transformation
Jon Foster-Pedley (Dean and Director of Henley Africa) – Integrity and Compliance
These University experts are working with experts from other universities and institutions to contribute to the summit’s areas of focus: disaster resilience, debt sustainability for low-income countries, financing green energy, and sustainable development.
Strengthening Africa's voice in climate policy
Dr Emmanuel Essah has also been appointed through his collaboration with the Walker Institute as an advisory member on Just Energy Transition for the Africa Just Transition Platform (JTP).
The JTP brings together 25 experts from across the continent to shape African policy. Stakeholders from energy, labour, trade, agriculture, and gender justice sectors are brought together to develop guiding principles for Africa's unified, community-driven response to the climate crisis, rooted in African priorities and lived realities.
As a panelist on "The Future of the World of Work in Africa: The Promise of Green Industrial Development in Fostering a Just Transition," Dr Essah contributed to discussions on empowering communities to actively participate in the energy transition, investing in capacity building for a sustainable future, and creating inclusive policies that leave no one behind.
Dr Emmanuel Essah said: "With energy transitions accelerating globally and recent challenges like Spain's blackouts highlighting infrastructure vulnerabilities, we need construction and engineering solutions that ensure reliable, sustainable energy systems. My work with Africa Just Transition Platform and the G20's Energy Mix and Just Transition taskforce focuses on building resilient infrastructure that serves all communities equitably while meeting our climate commitments."
We are in the process of finalising our postgraduate taught courses for 2026/27 entry. In the meantime, you can view our 2025/26 courses.
