WINDHOEK, April 26 — A general consensus held by African energy ministers along with experts in the energy sector has resolved that a just energy transition is necessary for the continent’s industrialization and economic development.
Namibia’s Mines and Energy Ministry spokesperson Andreas Simon on Monday said there was general agreement that the continent would be better suited to utilizing its energy mix to industrialize as it formulates a just transition to a greener energy mix on its own terms.
The remarks came in the wake of the fourth Namibia International Energy Conference that was held here on April 21-22, during which a ministerial panel made the recommendations.
During the energy conference, NJ Ayuk, Chairperson of the Africa Energy Chamber iterated that a just transition could not exist without oil and gas because there was global variation in terms of economic, industrial maturity, and carbon footprint emission levels.
At that time, he underscored that “the developed world needs to decarbonize, and Africa needs to industrialize.”
The calls for Africa to exploit its existing resources to create and leverage an energy mix to transform its industrial and economic development comes at a time when there is a decline in investments in oil and gas in Sub-Saharan Africa.
According to global investment trends shared by Osam Iyahem of the Africa Finance Corporation, investment and finance institutions have increasingly reallocated financing toward renewable energy, where investment in fossil fuels reached its lowest levels in over 10 years in 2020.
The two-day energy conference took place in Windhoek under the patronage of Namibia’s Ministry of Mines and Energy, and in partnership with the Africa Energy Chamber. (Xinhua)
Africa must define energy transition on its own terms: experts
