By Salifu Faridat
In a significant move to bolster Africa’s renewable energy sector, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced its intention to invest $4.5 billion.
This announcement was made during the inaugural African Climate Summit held in Nairobi, Kenya, on September 5, 2023.
Africa, despite its abundant natural resources, has been grappling with a glaring lack of investments in the renewable energy sector, receiving a mere 3% of global energy investments.
The ambitious investment drive spearheaded by the UAE aligns with the goals of the African Climate Summit, which aims to attract international investments to bolster Africa’s renewable energy capabilities.
Notably, the UAE is set to host the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) from November 30 to December 12, 2023.
Sultan Al Jaber, the Minister of Industry and Technology of the UAE and the President of COP28, made the announcement, stating, “We will deploy $4.5 billion to initiate a stream of profitable clean energy projects on this significant continent.”
This substantial investment is earmarked to facilitate the development of 15 gigawatts (GW) of clean energy by the year 2030.
Related Posts
To put this into context, Africa’s renewable energy production capacity stood at 56 gigawatts in 2022, as reported by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
Beyond its direct contribution, the UAE’s investment is expected to mobilize an additional $12.5 billion from a variety of sources, including multilateral organizations, public funds, and private investors.
The urgency of transitioning to clean energy solutions in developing nations cannot be overstated. Such efforts are pivotal in the pursuit of the goals set out in the Paris Agreement, which seeks to limit global warming to under two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, with an ideal target of 1.5°C.
According to IRENA, achieving this requires annual investments of $2 trillion within the next decade, a staggering eightfold increase from the current levels.
Despite its vast reservoir of natural resources, Africa has received only a mere 3% of global energy investments.
For instance, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Zambia together account for nearly 80% of the world’s cobalt reserves, a critical mineral essential for the production of batteries and electric vehicles.
In addition to galvanizing international investments for renewable energy expansion in Africa, participants in the first African Climate Summit are actively working to formulate a unified African perspective on development and climate.
These collective efforts are geared towards shaping the discourse in the forthcoming international climate negotiations.
Anticipation is building as these negotiations are set to culminate in a pivotal discussion regarding the future of fossil fuels at COP28, scheduled to take place in Dubai in approximately three months.
