'600m Africans Are Unable to Access electricity,' says Adesina

Adesina 

No fewer than 600 million people do not have access to electriciy, while 970 million are unable to use  clean energy for cooking in Africa,  the President, African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwumi Adesina has said. 

He said the development has made it pretty difficult for the continent to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal ( SDG), adding that the continent  must connect 90 million to electricity by 2030 in order to speed up the growth of Africa.

Africa, Akinwuunmi said, needs to shift 130 million 130 million people from dirty cooking fuels yearly to achieve more growth in that area.

He disclosed that Africa’s energy transition would require an estimated $100 billion annually between 2020 and 2040.

While addressing participants at the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue, Akinwuunmi  said that urgent action is needed in order to reduce the world’s dependence on fossil fuels and harness Africa’s renewable energy sources. German and Nigeria hosted the dialogue. 

The AfDB helsman, however, advised African leaders and investors to make maximum use of renewable energy potentials, which the content is blessed with, advising to shift their focus towards harnessing the continent’s renewable energy sources for growth. 

While underscoring Africa’s success and enormous potential to become a global leader in sustainable development, Akinwumi highlighted the significant energy challenges millions of Africans still faced. 

Acording to him, Africa’s significant cobalt, manganese and platinum reserves could be utilised to build a robust manufacturing sector rather than being merely exported as raw materials.

Alluding to Europe’s push for emissions-free vehicles, he said: “Africa is a crucial source for minerals and metals for clean energy value chains, including electric vehicles and utility-scale battery storage.

“Africa is the perfect place to build lithium-ion batteries to power German cars.”

He also recognised green hydrogen as a low-carbon investment in building decarbonised economies.

The AfDB chief reiterated that AfDB was spearheading efforts to unlock Africa’s vast renewable energy potential, with 86 per cent of its power generation investments in renewables and a ban on coal energy projects.

He insisted that natural gas should be crucial to Africa’s diversified energy mix to guarantee a secure energy supply for industries and residences.

Akinwumi said, “Africa, just like Germany and Europe, must be given time to transition and be allowed to use its natural gas resources as a transition fuel.

“While Africa will do everything possible to expand the use of renewable energy, the intermittency sources, such as wind and solar, made it impossible to guarantee the security of supply.

“Natural gas is, therefore, a key part of the energy mix for assuring the security of supply and critical for Africa,”.

Kenyan President William Ruto while speaking urged the audience to rise to the challenge of genuine partnership to address the climate crisis and break the cycle of dependence that had plagued Africa for decades.

German Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock said the energy transition was primarily about the security, and global security depended on getting away from fossil fuels.

The annual Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue is a joint initiative of the German Renewable Energy Federation, the German Solar Association, the German Energy Agency, and consulting firm eclareon.

The forum draws a wide range of prominent participants from the energy sector, including policymakers and representatives from industry, science and civil society.

It provides a platform for discussing experiences and ideas on a safe, affordable, and environmentally responsible global energy transition.