Africa Pavilion at COP 21

This high level segment focused on renewable energy in Africa and took place on Africa Climate Change and Energy Day during COP 21. The session was moderated by Adnan Z. Amin, Director-General, IRENA. His opening remarks centered on the challenge of increased GDP growth in Africa and the concomitant demand for energy investment. To meet Africa’s energy demand, he said, current installed capacity needs to be more than tripled and that renewable energy offers a solution. He emphasized that much of the regulatory and planning work has already been done in Africa, and that the next step is providing a pipeline of projects and the associated financing.

Elham Mahmoud Ahmed Ibrahim, Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy, AUC, highlighted that the AUC’s 2063 Agenda has a strong focus on ensuring modern and sustainable energy access for all. She said the Africa Clean Energy Corridor should be supported for both industrialization and economic transformation.

Carlos Lopes, Executive Secretary, UNECA, said Africans are known for being part of the solution to sustainable development. As latecomers to industrialization, he said, Africa can take a different path and industrialize in a green way. He underscored Africa’s lack of energy noting that Japan, with just 10 percent the population of Africa, has 20 times more energy available. He urged leapfrogging financially by mobilizing domestic resources through mechanisms such improved tax collection at lower levels in order to attract outside investment. He said the Africa Clean Energy Corridor is important because it was one of the first initiatives to make clear that investment should be integrated and cross-national.

Marie-Ségolène Royal, Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy, France, spoke from the audience and said access to energy for Africa is “the most important issue of COP 21.” She said the time for action is now and called for bottom up solutions and complimentary financing.

Shiferaw Teklemariam, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Ethiopia, said when Africa grows it must integrate at the continental scale and “plan big.” He highlighted the potential of renewables in Ethiopia, specifically hydropower and wind. Jabulane Mabuza, Minister of Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Swaziland, supported the Africa Clean Energy Corridor and said Swaziland is mapping zones of high solar and wind energy potential. He underscored Swaziland’s commitment to making a transition to low carbon growth.

Judi Wakhungu, Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Water and Natural Resources, Kenya, called the Africa Clean Energy Corridor an “ambitious undertaking” that requires coordination among all sectors. She said regional power pooling is important. She highlighted that nearly 600 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa have no access to electricity but that there is enormous potential for clean energy to address this challenge. Elizabeth Dipuo Peters, Minister of Transport, South Africa lauded the Africa Clean Energy Corridor and the fact that 21 countries have already endorsed it. She said Africa must be part of technology development so that the continent is not merely a consumer of foreign technology.

Jesca Eriyo, Deputy Secretary General, East African Community, said in Africa the majority of people rely on biomass for energy which has adverse impacts on forests and ecosystems. She said innovative business models are already in place to bring the private sector on board to invest in energy via credit schemes with flexible payment arrangement and the use of mobile money transfer. Within regulatory frameworks, private sector participation has already been encouraged, she said. Mahama Kappiah, Executive Director, ECOWAS Regional Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) underscored the gravity of the situation noting that in West Africa there are less than 20 gigawatts of installed power for nearly 330 million people.

During this session panelists discussed the coordination of pan African energy initiatives. Chrispin Zana, Senior Energy Advisor, AUC, and Fatima Denton, Director, Special Initiatives Division, UNECA, moderated the session.

Elham Mahmoud Ahmed Ibrahim, Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy, AUC, highlighted the remarkable progress in harmonizing pan African energy initiatives through a range of meetings between African institutions and donors during the past six months but she noted that more effort is needed. She also outlined the need to link energy initiatives with climate change efforts on the continent.

Mamadou Diakhite, Team Leader, Sustainable Land and Water Management, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), said that any new coordination plans should encompass existing coordination mechanisms at the regional and continental levels to achieve the Africa Power Vision. He noted the importance of increasing coordination to avoid duplication and waste of resources and that more resources are needed to fill the energy gap.

Kurt Lonsway, Manager, Environment and Climate Change, African Development Bank (AfDB), outlined the importance of coordination and mapping of existing energy initiatives and introduced David Otieno, Project Manager, Africa-EU Energy Partnership (AEEP), who presented the aim and preliminary work of the Mapping of Energy Initiatives in Africa, which he said has been useful in order to understand “the puzzle we are working in” and to identify where there are gaps or overlaps on energy in Africa. He outlined that the goal of the mapping exercise is to compile a comprehensive and systematic mapping of initiatives promoting energy in the African context.

Mohamed A.S. Abdel Monem, representative of African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN), and Advisor to the Minister on African Affairs, Ministry of Environment, Egypt, outlined the importance of the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI) and agreed that there is a serious need for coordination between initiatives and donors.

Peter Craig-McQuaide, Head of Unit, International Cooperation and Development, Sustainable Energy and Climate Change, EU Commission, said “we are all guilty” of not streamlining and coordinating with regards to energy. This lack of coordination he said, has been recognized by donors who are doing their best to be more streamlined and to become better partners. He argued that Africa needs to “put its own house in order” on energy coordination as it is their responsibility to organize their own affairs but that the EU Commission will work with Africa in the way Africa finds best.

Angela Kallhauge, Senior Programme Officer, International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), highlighted IRENA’s work on renewable energy in Africa and said that coordination for IRENA primarily means ensuring that objectives are met and that there is up to date information to inform decisions and avoid duplication or misinformation.

Discussions ensued on, inter alia: the need for data on decentralized energy provision; the need to combine adaptation and mitigation; the potential for renewable and marine energy; whether sovereignty issues can hamper efforts for better coordination of energy initiatives; and what African countries are pledging financially to AREI.

Participants in this side event discussed actions that can be taken to create enabling environments for private sector finance and investment in renewable energy in Africa. The event was moderated by Gareth Phillips, Chief Climate Change and Green Officer, AfDB, who framed the discussion by stating that the US$100 billion promised at COP 15 will not be enough to meet the energy needs of Africa and therefore private sector finance is needed but will only happen when the investment environment is right.

Mafalda Duarte, Manager, CIF, said the financing gap needed to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 7 on energy is very large and under a business as usual scenario it will not be reached until 2080. She said the CIF portfolio on mitigation is approximately US$6.4 billion and that CIF provides US$2 billion to Africa.

Jan-Willem van der Ven, Head of Carbon Market Development, EBRD, said that the key role of the EBRD is to facilitate market transition and that the EBRD’s biggest investments are in the private sector. He outlined that EBRD is increasing investment in Africa and in renewable energy and energy efficiency in particular.

Alex Mulisa, Coordinator, FONERWA, Rwanda, said that Rwanda has improved the enabling environment for investing in renewables by creating and implementing relevant policies highlighting Vision 2020 and the Green Growth Climate Resilient Strategy. He highlighted that FONERWA was created to implement these policies through an innovation grant and a line of credit. He noted that 100% of the line of credit projects are on renewable energy.

Bruno Bensasson, Head, ENGIE Africa, said trust is key for investment in energy and power in Africa and that the merits of renewable energy are many: the technology is “carbon free”; it is often decentralized and does not require grid and network expenditure; the price is less volatile than fossil fuels; it is quick to install; and renewables are getting “cheaper and cheaper.” For these reasons, he said, renewables are the best technical and economic solution in rural areas although they won’t be the only solution for Africa.

Assaad W. Razzouk, Chairman, ASriA, said decarbonizing Africa will require between US$300-400 billion, an amount equivalent to 10% of Africa’s GDP that can only come from private investors both domestic and international. He underscored that international capital does not like to flow to places where domestic capital is not already flowing. He said international investors need stable and predictable policies which means stable and predictable governments. This, he said, is one reason investors seem to like dictatorships.

John Ward, Managing Director, Vivid Economics, outlined the merits of embedding renewable energy policies within the broader visions of countries as this provides clarity for the private sector. He said “a lot of ink has been spilled” by economists trying to create elaborate schemes to encourage investments in renewables but it is often better to “keep it simple, stupid.” He expressed worry about the lack of focus on grid infrastructure as it is essential for the transmission of both fossil and renewable energies. He highlighted an idea to create an “ease of doing business in renewables index” so that Africans “can shout from the rooftops” about the effectiveness of their renewable energy policies.

During discussions participants answered questions on, amongst other things: whether African countries should implement carbon taxes; the role of civil society with regards to private investment in renewable energy; and the effect of financial turbulence on African energy markets.

This session focused on energy mapping and energy planning in Africa. Yacob Mulugetta, Professor, University College London, said there is a need to understand what kind of work is actually happening on the ground using energy mapping. It is also important, he said, to look beyond mapping and into the future using tools like TEMBA.

Linus Mofor, Senior Expert on Energy and Climate, UNECA, said there is an Africa energy paradox in the sense that there are myriad energy resources in Africa and yet a chronic energy deficit persists. UNECA is promoting sustainable development in Africa, he said, and all of its initiatives require a large amount of energy. He noted the need to leapfrog into a low carbon pathway and to make sure that African industrialization occurs in a framework where there is capacity for energy planning that enables making optimal choices on energy.

Morgan Bazilian, Lead Energy Specialist, World Bank, speaking by video stream said the draft Paris outcome does not have many mentions of energy. He said that governments, from that of the US to Kenya and Ghana, have begun to focus on open data for citizens. He said these initiatives increase transparency and reduce barriers to innovation. Without transparency in energy models for decision making credibility will be questioned, he said.

Mark Howells, Professor, KTH, described TEMBA, as an open source energy modeling tool designed to inform the development of medium and long term energy strategies so that policymakers can allocate resources most efficiently. All African countries and all potential investment scenarios are available within the tool, he said. He emphasized that the tool is available online for anyone to download and use. The tool also allows for trade models that look at cost optimal actions, he said, and it also has the ability to compare emissions from investments in fossil fuels or renewables. He noted that the tool is being provided as a public good and he hopes that partners will be able to host regional workshops to share TEMBA and its uses.

David Otieno, Project Manager, AEEP, discussed the AEEP and said there is no comprehensive overview of energy-related activities in Africa, and there is a need for more coordination. He suggested a coordination platform to facilitate information sharing, monitoring and systemic learning across partners. Eduardo Zepeda, Senior Inter-Regional Advisor, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, spoke via video stream and presented on the challenge of sustainable development modeling tools to inform policy decision making and enhance communication across ministries. Joseph Essandoh-Yeddu, Head, Strategic Planning and Policy Division, Energy Commission, Ghana, said sustainable energy must meet the needs of the present without compromising opportunities in the future.

The Africa Pavilion @ COP 21 Bulletin © <enb@iisd.org> is a special publication of the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). This issue has been written by Dina Hestad and Brett Wertz. The Digital Editor is Liz Rubin. The Editor is Tomilola Akanle Eni-ibukun, Ph.D. <tomilola@iisd.org>. The Director of IISD Reporting Services is Langston James “Kimo” Goree VI <kimo@iisd.org>. Funding for coverage of the Africa Pavilion at COP 21 has been provided by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). The opinions expressed in the Bulletin are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of IISD and funders. Excerpts from the Bulletin may be used in non-commercial publications only with appropriate academic citation. For permission to use this material in commercial publications, contact the Director of IISD Reporting Services at <kimo@iisd.org>. Electronic versions of issues of the Africa Pavilion @ COP 21 Bulletin can be found on the IISD Reporting Services website at http://enb.iisd.org/climate/cop21/cdafrica-ap/. The IISD team at the Africa Pavilion at COP 21 can be contacted by e-mail at <brett@iisd.org>.