The Group President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, has called on African leaders and investors to shift more focus towards utilizing the renewable energy sources available in the continent.
Adesina made the call while addressing participants at the recently concluded Ninth Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue, hosted by the German Government.
According to him, Africa’s significant cobalt, manganese and platinum reserves could be utilised to build a robust manufacturing sector, instead of exporting such mineral resources in raw form.
In his words, “Africa is a crucial source of 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.”
The AfDB boss stressed the urgent need for the world to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and harness Africa’s renewable energy sources, while also underscoring Africa’s success and enormous potential to become a global leader in sustainable development.
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He said Africa’s energy transition would require an estimated $100 billion yearly between 2020 and 2040.
Citing a reviewed 2022 report, Adesina said at least 600 million people did not have access to electricity, while 970 million people lacked access to clean energy for cooking.
The AfDB boss warned that for Africa to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), seven of affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all, Africa must connect 90 million people yearly to electricity by 2030.
He also urged that the continent must remove 130 million people from dirty cooking fuels yearly.
Adesina 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.
Story was adapted from The Heritage Times
