Sharm El Sheikh, November 16, 2022 – The UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa, in partnership with the African Influencers for Development (AI4Dev) – the UNDP Africa private sector partnership platform, and the Africa Business Council (ABC), organized an Africa Forum on Renewable Energy (AREF) inaugural at COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt – under the theme “Powering Development”
The gathering, hosted in the Climate Action Innovation Zone by theAfrica Finance Corporationbrought together industry leaders, private sector leaders and senior United Nations and African Union officials to define the actions and strategies needed to put the continent on a sustainable energy path.
With Africa’s population expected to reach 2 billion by 2050, two out of every five children in the world will be born on the continent. The future of these young people will greatly depend on the success of the transition to greener, cleaner, abundant and sustainable energy. Access to energy is a prerequisite for development and will fuel Africa’s industrialization while creating the jobs of the future and reducing vulnerability to external shocks.
“Africa is a critical player when it comes to climate action and now we have an opportunity to fuel green development on the continent,” said Ahunna Eziakonwa, UN Under-Secretary-General and Director from the UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa. “We must scale up our initiatives, ensure a just energy transition and sustainable financing that will enable Africa to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change while accelerating its development ambition. »
Representing the African Business Council, led by the African Union (AU) Commission and co-organizer of AREF, Ambassador Albert Muchanga, AU Commissioner for Economic Development, Trade, Tourism, industry and minerals, urged public and private actors to take a “bottom-up” approach to powering Africa. He said: “The majority of Africans still do not have access to electricity; and this is a major concern. If we are to fuel development, we must leave no one behind. The speed of our development will not be determined by the people at the top of the development process, but by the people at the bottom. »
As Africa is currently facing unprecedented economic shocks brought regarding by the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, participants stressed the importance of mobilizing resources on the continent to support the development of industrial capacities of Africa. “The crisis we are currently facing is regarding resources and Africa is playing a key role towards a solution. We cannot continue to export raw materials. We must focus on the export of value-added products for the structural transformation of our economies”, argued Samaila Zubairu – President of theAfrica Finance Corporation and host of the event.
The importance of transforming Africa’s development model and focusing on industrialization and the AfCFTA was highlighted by Carlos Lopes, Professor at theUniversity of Cape Town, and former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. He also urged countries to break free from what he called “the colonial trap,” which saw colonial-era African economies primarily structured for the extraction and export of raw materials. “The growth trajectory that the world has used to develop has not benefited the developing countries where the resources are. The structure of African trade today shows that Africa is very dependent,” said Carlos Lopes, who added that carbon markets today present new opportunities for trade and development in Africa. .
Ms. Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO and Special Representative for Energy of the United Nations Secretary General Sustainable for All, “The African continent holds enormous potential for renewable energy projects. The region has demonstrated a strong commitment to accelerating the use of modern renewable technologies. However, global support for the continent must recognize that our clean energy future depends on uniting our current energy, climate and development efforts.”
Amadou Hott, former Senegalese Minister of Economy, Planning and International Cooperation, warned that Africa must take advantage of the opportunity of the energy transition to industrialise. He said, “We must not fall into the trap of using Africa’s renewable energy only for export. Industries must also be developed on African soil. »
Sub-Saharan Africa is the region with the largest energy access deficit in the world. An estimated 568 million people lack access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa. This represents three quarters of the world’s population without electricity.
On the importance of access to energy, Ahunna Eziakonwa highlighted UNDP’s commitment to ensuring that 500 million people – worldwide – have access to electricity from renewable sources. This plan, which in Africa will be implemented as part of the Africa Minigrids program, launched at COP 27 on November 15, “will play an important role in improving livelihoods and fighting poverty”. , said Ahunna Eziakonwa.
Some 80 percent of people in sub-Saharan Africa lack access to clean and safe cooking fuels and technologies, constituting 40 percent of the world’s population that lacks access to clean cooking energy. This large energy deficit effectively traps some of the most vulnerable communities in poverty, most of them living in Africa.
