United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, called on the global community to position Africa as a major force in the renewable energy sector.
This came during his recent speech delivered at the African Climate Summit held in Nairobi.
We need to join forces to ensure that by 2030, Africa emerges as a renewable energy superpower,” Guterres asserted. He urged G20 leaders, who will be meeting later this week in India, to take responsibility in the fight against climate change.
Prominent leaders, government officials, and sector representatives attended the summit in Nairobi. Their goal was to bolster Africa’s capabilities in the realm of clean energy.
Making a significant shift to clean energy in developing countries is critical to the Paris Agreement’s objective of restricting global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, ideally to 1.5°C.
On Tuesday, the United Arab Emirates announced a funding initiative of AED 16.5 billion (approximately 4.5 billion US dollars) aimed at enhancing Africa’s clean energy capacity.
Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and the designated president for the upcoming COP28 conference in Dubai, stated, “The Emirati initiative prioritizes investments across African nations.
It outlines clear strategies for a responsible, organized, and equitable transition in the energy sector. With enhanced regulatory frameworks and a master plan for developing electricity infrastructure, the initiative seeks to work with and for Africa.
Its primary aim is to underline the commercial viability of clean investments across the continent, providing a scalable and replicable model to fast-track Africa towards low-emission growth.”
Jaber further revealed that the investments aim to produce 15 gigawatts of clean energy by 2030.
It’s worth noting that around 600 million people in sub-Saharan African countries alone live without an electricity source.
Greater access to clean energy can propel social and economic development in Africa, a continent that currently attracts only about 2% of global investments in renewable energy.
This is far below the annual $60 billion needed by the continent by 2030.
