Martin Endjala
President Hage Geingob has urged fellow African leaders to champion solutions for African problems by collaborating with each other for it to be successful and realize the ambitions of the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI) to achieve the objective of creating additional 300 Gigawatts renewable energy.
Geingob was speaking virtually yesterday at the opening of the African renewable energy forum underway in Cairo, Egypt, where he pointed out that policy convergence and regulatory reforms in the African energy governance architecture is crucial to unlock the potential of renewable technologies in green hydrogen, wind projects, solar power and other low-carbon generation capacities.
The much talked about Green Hydrogen which is part and parcel of Namibia’s long term decarburization agenda, with efforts being focused on achieving large-scale, low-cost renewable energy development, which is intended to become the front runner as a continental green hydrogen production hub.
According to the President, Africa has the potential to become a key player in the global energy market and it should seize the opportunity by doing the right things at the right time.
“Yes, the time is right to do the right things. Yes, with the right kind of collaborations and partnerships, the time has come to ensure that no one is left behind in our ambition of energy for all”, Geingob emphasized.
At the 41st Ordinary Session of the Executive Council, the African Union Commission adopted the African Common Position on Energy Access, with the Common Position on Energy Access, which places a strong emphasis on increasing the uptake of renewable energy to ensure a low carbon and climate-resilient trajectory for the African continent. Based on these, Geingob believes that Africa should continue to speak with one voice.
Cognisant of the task ahead, the inspired President believes that despite the difficulties faced along
the way it is not insurmountable. And with the unpredictable climate change causing unprecedented
events, African countries have no other option but to opt for renewable energy.
The provision of clean energy from Renewable Energy sources to the majority of households and businesses, is the only way to spur development in a manner that is sustainable for people and the planet, he told the conference participants.
To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the year 2030, African countries should work with urgency to ensure the successful implementation of Goal 7 of the SDGs, that is ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.
According to the International Energy Agency, for Africa to achieve full energy access by 2030, the
continent will need to invest around USD$120 billion per annum.
Namibia and Egypt as well as Morocco have taken the lead in green hydrogen initiatives and other low-carbon generating energy sources.
