Climate change is seen as a major challenge affecting the energy sector in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) region.
Speaking on the “challenges in the energy sector and the way forward for regional countries for the next three decades”, at a high-level roundtable in the 9th Mozambique Mining and Energy Conference and Exhibition, panellists said that regional governments should formulate policies to tackle the impacts of climate change on the energy sector.
Reminding participants about the devastation left in the wake of cyclone Freddy, Malawian Energy Minister Ibrahim Matola said that because “energy is the driver of economy”, the region needed to collectively address the issue of climate change, which has the potential to disrupt the production and supply of energy.
Freddy left a trail of devastation as it made landfall twice in February and March 2023 in the region, particularly in Mozambique and Malawi.
Another potential challenge identified by the panellists is the transition from fossil to clean energies, which they said that, although important towards reducing carbon emissions, it was being foisted upon the developing world.
Currently, Africa accounts for less than four percent of total global greenhouse gas emissions, with the worst polluters being countries like the United States, China, and India, which had developed relying heavily on fossil fuels.
Malawian Mining Minister, Monica Chang’anamuno, said that regional governments needed to ask whether it was time to transition away from fossil fuels as a source of energy, which they could use to help develop their countries.
As such, regional and African countries needed to present a united front when discussing energy transition to benefit the people of Africa.
Mozambican Mineral and Energy Resources, Carlos Zacarias, added that “we’re part of a global village and as such, we need to manage and ensure that we have a justs, fair and sustainable transition,” which warranted a close regional collaboration.
Comment
Generally, African governments are on board regarding transitioning away from fossil to cleaner energies, they argue that need to be given time to develop their countries and ensure energy security for the continent.
However, this contrasts with the position of civil society organisations working in the field of environment, who call for a total abandonment of fossil fuels in favour of clean, renewable energies based on the Paris Agreement on climate, which urges countries to cut emissions to 50 per cent by 2030 and net zero by 2050.
In any case, the proposed decarbonisation will imply job losses for lots of Africans, and lots of money to re-skill workers for a new economy, which the continent does not have.
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