Browsing: “Energy and climate change.”

• The EAC has announced investments in wind and solar energy infrastructure.
• Member states have launched various initiatives designed to catalyze and grow the use of renewable energies and energy conservation on the other.
• To achieve this ambitious green future, the bloc needs political will, regulation, and the creation of national renewable energy laws.

The East African Community (EAC) partner states are working to enhance energy efficiency in the bloc even as reports show some members are doubling down on projects improving the extraction of fossil fuels.

During the Ministerial Session of the 16^th Sectoral Council of Energy held at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania, the six-member bloc announced investments in wind and solar energy infrastructure, driving the region closer to an era of green economy.

Although the investment amount was not specified, the ministers highlighted the goal of utilising wind, solar, and geothermal energy as sustainable sources for …

• Globally, it’s time to usher in an era of sustainable resource management, embrace green practices, or face the risk of extinction.
• Achieving development without polluting our surroundings is not only vital for human well-being but is the bedrock of our very survival.
• Fuel subsidies provided to oil companies by governments have perpetuated the use of polluting fuels, leading to staggering mortality figures.

The world’s pursuit of progress and development has come at a hefty price, as pollution and environmental degradation threaten our very existence. Clean air, land, and water – the fundamental pillars of life – are now under siege due to unchecked industrialization and unsustainable practices. The question looms: Can humanity continue to advance without imperiling its own survival?

Sustainable financing

The urgency of the situation is crystal clear. Achieving development without polluting our surroundings is not only vital for human well-being but is the bedrock of our very …

• The Aga Khan Foundation has launched a campaign to plant 1.5 million mangrove trees in Bagamoyo, Tanzania.
• The environment in Bagamoyo is worsening due to illegal tree harvesting that has already cleared over 5,636 hectares of mangrove forest.
• The campaign is part of the AKF’s trailblazing programmes in East Africa geared towards providing an environmentally sustainable future.

The Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) is stepping up efforts to tackle negative impacts of climate change on the environment by planting 1.5 million mangrove trees along Africa’s Indian Ocean Coast. The green initiative is part of a network of projects in the pipeline under AKF’s long-term goal of creating a sustainable future for humanity globally.

The mangrove trees initiative, which is in response to climate change, was launched this May, in Bagamoyo, Tanzania. The campaign will be undertaken in Bagamoyo mangrove forest reserve, an ecosystem that borders the Saadani National Park.

Putting at

• By enhancing intra-African trade, AfCFTA estimates that the continent with gain $195 billion by 2045.
• These gains are projected to be mainly realised in industry, services, agrifood, and energy sectors.
• By collaborating under AfCFTA, countries can greatly boost regional supply chains for the global electric vehicles market.

African countries need to embrace a set of reforms critical in driving Africa’s free trade plan, AfCFTA. The call comes even as more African leaders sign the agreement on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

AfCFTA has the potential to transform regional trade and thereby lift billions of livelihoods in Africa out of poverty. To realise these benefits however African leaders need to go beyond blueprints.

“It is not for lack of blueprints that Africa has not structurally transformed,” United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) Secretary-General Antonio Pedro said.

Mr Pedro was speaking at the Africa Regional Forum by UNECA on …

• To transition from fossil fuels to cleaner more sustainable energy, we need innovation and new technology.
• The earth has an array of minerals that carry huge energy potential that has little to do with burning.
• The World Bank: Harnessing natural resource wealth provides an opportunity to improve fiscal and debt sustainability of African countries

The race to combat global climate change challenge is offering Africa a fresh opportunity to attract investments in the decarbonization industry as countries adopt clean energy. The known patterns are gone, we now have unpredictable weather changes and ever-so-frequent catastrophic weather events all caused by global climate change.

The effect is desertification where there was vegetation, floods where land was arid, melting glaciers from the North Pole to Kilimanjaro, famine, food insecurity, and disease, all because of the energy we used to industrialize, it is time for the energy transition.

To transition from fossil fuels to …

• Lender AfDB is looking to harness global equity funds to finance climate change mitigation in Africa.
• AfDB statistics show that only 14 percent of $29.5 billion that was invested in climate finance for Africa in 2020 was from the private sector.
• AfDB is set to hold climate change financing meeting in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, this May.

An increasing number of people across Africa are grappling with unpredictable but definite cycles of failed rains, flash floods or severe drought as climate change-induced weather patterns become the norm in the continent that is one of the least polluters globally.

“Africa, the continent that pollutes the planet the least, is today one of the world’s most vulnerable to climate risks,” admits the African Development Bank.

In many countries in Africa today, it is nearly impossible for farmers to practice rain-fed agriculture, which is the primary option for 99 percent of agricultural production …

The 2023 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation shortlist represents ten African countries, including first timers Angola and Sierra Leone, and demonstrates the importance of engineering as an enabler of improved quality of life and sustained economic development.

The UK Royal Academy of Engineering shortlist of innovations tackle challenges central to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, including clean water and sanitation, sustainable cities and communities, good health and wellbeing, and clean energy, good health and wellbeing, and quality education.

Several water innovations are featured in the shortlist Africa Prize Engineering Innovation, including a real-time water quality monitoring and control system, an acid mine drainage solution to recycle contaminated water for human consumption, a portable unit that uses fish waste to boost production of vegetables, and a water management system to prevent excess borehole pumping and drying out of aquifers.…

The search for Congo’s cobalt has shown how the clean energy revolution has taken a turn. It is to save the planet from rising temperatures in an age of enlightened self-interest. But it has become mired in a familiar cycle of exploitation, greed, and deception. This often benefits Africa little or not at all.

On November 24, 2021, a group of G7 countries, including Japan and the US made a decision. They stated they will withdraw crude oil from their Strategic Petroleum Reserve. (SPR). The SPR was an underground salt tank in Utah, turned into a recession and warproof facility. It was in reaction to the twin World Trade Center explosions on September 11, 2001.…

GreenCo Power Services, a subsidiary of Africa GreenCo has received a total of USD 1.5 million through two deals. The Danish government’s Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU) has committed $1 million in funding. InfraCo Africa, the investment arm of the Private Infrastructure Development Group also put in $500 000 through a convertible loan. 

The deal will see GreenCo Power services come to life to strengthen power generation capacity. Renewable energy generation will provide an innovative approach to electricity production which is set to drive Zambia’s power infrastructure significantly. 

The Zambian government is on the path to scaling up energy which ties in with the country’s vision to be a prosperous middle-income country by 2030. As part of its vision, the country intends to shore up energy availability to drive productivity in the country. This deal will therefore see GreenCo acting as a complementary partner to the Zambian government’s vision. …