Author: Opinion

Opinions by contributors are views of respected thought leaders in the respective industries they operate in. The Exchange is a close partner with each of the various opinion contributors.

President Hage Geingob
  • President Hage Geingob was truly an African giant, but one whom far too many people didn’t know about.
  • Namibia has President Geingob to thank for its rapidly developing green hydrogen sector, which will lead to even more jobs, business opportunities, and access to electricity for Namibians.
  • The late Geingob’s visionary leadership, integrity, and his wise approach to building Namibia’s hydrocarbon and renewable energy sectors was outstanding.

On Monday morning, February 4, many of us woke to the news of the tragic passing of Namibian President Hage Geingob.

The death of this great man and remarkable leader is a tremendous lsac à dos eastpak jordan proto max 720 yeezy boost 350 v2 hyperspace yeezy shoes under 1000 inflatable kayak sit top kayak custom kings jersey nike air max 90 futura sac à dos eastpak deuce vaughn jersey nike air max 90 futura 8 ft kayak kansas city chiefs crocs nike

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energy costs
  • In Africa, just like elsewhere, energy-intensive businesses are under great pressure to decrease CO2 emissions.
  • Wärtsilä Energy knows more about this than most: many of our mining and industrial partners in Africa operate their microgrids, either from choice or necessity.
  • While wind and solar power can offer emission-free energy at lower costs than fossil fuels, their intermittent nature adds uncertainty to the system.

In African countries, particularly those with a well-developed industrial sector, a significant portion of energy production may come from the industry’s own power plants.

This is especially true in countries with low grid reliability, and industries rely on self-generated power to ensure a stable energy supply.

In this article, we offer insights into Wärtsilä Energy’s approach to supporting energy-intensive industries to optimise the use of renewable energy and reach their decarbonisation objectives.

In Africa, just like elsewhere, energy-intensive businesses are under great pressure to decrease CO2 emissions …

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food security climate change agriculture
  • Food security is increasingly under threat as extreme weather events, shifting agro-ecological zones and changes in rainfall patterns accelerate the risk of food insecurity.
  • In response to the challenges posed by climate change, various adaptation measures have been identified and implemented.
  • These aim to improve livelihoods and enhance food security while mitigating the impact of climate change.

Climate change is an undeniable reality, and its consequences have far-reaching effects on various sectors, particularly agriculture and food security. RSK Tanzania Senior Social Consultant Geofrey Mutayoba says developing countries are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, as their economies heavily rely on agriculture. However, innovative adaptation measures are being introduced that are yielding benefits that go beyond climate resilience.

Food security is increasingly under threat as extreme weather events, shifting agro-ecological zones and changes in rainfall patterns accelerate the risk of food insecurity. Developing countries face significant challenges in providing …

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Artificial Intelligence
  • AI allows photographers to transform their photos with just a few adjustments, enhancing colours, recovering details, and creating vibrant images that truly capture the magic of the moment.
  • AI-powered editing tools excel in removing unwanted elements, sharpening details, and reducing image noise, making them invaluable aids in producing impeccable photographs.

From the emergence of text-based diffusion models that can bring images to life with just a description, to the remarkable capabilities of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) image generators, the boundaries of what we can achieve in photography are expanding like never before.

Just few years ago, a professional photographer would spend more time on the photo editing process than on the photoshoot itself. Hours and hours were spent behind a computer, ensuring that each image reflected the essence of what the photographer intended. The colours, the focus, the details – all these elements took time to perfect.

AI-powered photography editing

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Africa's natural gas
  • Africa’s natural gas sector stands poised to prepare the entire continent for eventual decarbonization, as do many of the companies operating here.
  • Energy companies are describing policies that call for pursuing energy transition measures for tomorrow while providing the natural gas to power the world today.
  • Africa continues to hold immense natural gas potential and is positioned to not only increase its outputs but also capitalize on the underserved LNG market and meet Europe’s ongoing demand.

The recently signed liquefied natural gas (LNG) development project in South Africa’s Mpumalanga province is a promising step on the long road to Africa’s just energy transition.

The project, being jointly developed by Kinetic Energy of Australia and the Industrial Corporation of South Africa (IDC), a national development finance institution, will capitalize on Kinetic Energy’s recent 3.1 billion cubic feet natural gas discovery in Amersfoort, Mpumalanga. The project is expected to produce 50 megawatts …

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fossil fuels
  • The final agreement of the Dubai climate summit mentions for the first time a transition “away from fossil fuels.”
  • This is certainly a step on the right path, but that remains far too insufficient to respond to the urgency and severity of the climate crisis, particularly for vulnerable countries.
  • For millions of Africans, the climate crisis affects every aspect of life, from food and housing to access to clean water and clean energy.

World leaders have finally reached an agreement that the world must abandon fossil fuels to prevent catastrophic climate change, following 30 years of intense and painful negotiations.

This concession was achieved in response to the outcry caused by the previous draft, which did not explicitly acknowledge the necessity of transitioning away from fossil fuels.

Although some hail the Global Stocktake as ‘historic,’ it does not clearly signal an “exit” from oil, gas, and coal, as the …

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critical minerals cobalt
  • Africa holds more than half of the world’s reserves of cobalt, 46% of its manganese, and 21% of its graphite, all used in EV batteries, and about a quarter of its bauxite, which is required for solar photovoltaic technologies.
  • For decades, Africa has allowed her raw materials, including oil and natural gas, to be exported raw, without a chance to benefit from the finished product.
  • As a result, we’ve missed out on the job creation, industrialization, and economic diversification.

To meet their green agendas, the European Union, US, and China are engaged in the modern-day equivalent of a gold rush. This time, though, fortune seekers aren’t panning for shiny nuggets in Canada, America, or Australia. Instead, all eyes are on the critical minerals of Africa—cobalt, graphite, lithium, and others—raw materials essential to the production of clean technology, including electric vehicles (EV).

To say that Africa is generously endowed in this …

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energy transition Africa
  • African countries have every right to set the timing for their energy transition.
  • Africa still needs time–time that the Western world has already had and, frankly continues to milk–to resolve energy poverty and industrialize.
  • The continent’s oil and gas production, when managed strategically, provides a pathway for economic growth, energy transition and security.

About a year ago, before COP27 began in Egypt, Fiona Harvey and Matthew Taylor wrote in an opinion piece for The Guardian that it was time for gas exploration in Africa to stop.

“Africa must embrace renewable energy, and forgo exploration of its potentially lucrative gas deposits to stave off climate disaster and bring access to clean energy to the hundreds of millions who lack it, leading experts on the continent have said,” they wrote.

This is hardly new. For several years now, wealthy nations and environmental organizations have been strong-arming African countries to leave their petroleum …

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energy transition
  • Asking developing nations to ignore natural gas in the energy transition plan is essentially requesting that they ignore half their power capacity.
  • Currently, far too many people in Africa can’t buy milk from a refrigerated grocery aisle, do schoolwork after sunset, or get an X-ray at their local hospital.
  • Many Western states supplement their grids with wind or solar but ultimately rely on natural gas, oil, or coal.

Western leaders often urge African nations to make a rapid transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. They seem to think that African nations can switch to renewable power sources fairly easily if a good energy infrastructure is already in place.

But this is not the case in Africa, where roughly half of the population lacks access to electricity. Far too many of our people can’t buy milk from a refrigerated grocery aisle, do schoolwork after sunset, or get an X-ray …

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Developing Nations
  • The 2009 Copenhagen Accord was not a binding promise but set up a durable framework for future talks.
  • One of these solutions is for African countries to use crude oil, natural gas, and other hydrocarbons to develop their resources and use the revenues to finance energy transition.
  • In the process, they should also seek to meet several other complementary goals, such as building gas-fired plants that can provide cleaner power than existing coal.

From an African perspective, one of the most important things to come out of COP15, the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, was the formal recognition of the fact that lower-income countries were not in a position to bear as much of the cost of the energy transition as their higher-income counterparts.

That recognition was spelt out in the section of the Copenhagen Accord that included a pledge from the world’s highly developed states to …

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