De- risking investment critical to energy access, says UNDP

THE Sustainable Energy Hub of the United Nations Development Programme ( UNDP) said there is a need to de- risk investment to accelerate clean energy and address the high energy gap in Africa.

The agency also insisted that there is a need to build a clean energy value chain in Africa to harness existing clean energy resources and process them to the benefit of the continent.

Sub- Saharan Africa ( SSA) has over 600 million people with access to electricity and millions of others lack access to green cooking to make the region the world’s worst for universal energy use.

Director of Sustainable Energy Hub at UNDP, Riad Meddeb, speaking on the sideline of the International Renewable Energy Agency ( IRENA) Assembly in the United Arab Emirates said there is an urgent need to address the energy crisis in Africa.

Meddeb said there must be a strong partnership with the private sector and civil society organisations to accelerate clean energy deployment instead of solely waiting on public funding, adding that the role of government must focus on de- risking the sector for the players to thrive.

According to him, while it is easy to invest in some areas, investment in rural areas where there are unserved and underserved communities is still dismal and very critical.

Meddeb said the UNDP is piloting in seven SSA countries, a big programme on developing a pipeline of bankable projects while working on market development, digital intelligence as well as a governance framework for energy.

Coming at a time when global finance for climate is short- changing Africa, providing only $ 29 billion of the $ 653 billion in climate finance globally, Meddeb said it is worrisome that clean energy finance to Africa is standing at a dismal two per cent.

He noted that there is a need to take seriously the opportunities available through the development of critical minerals in Africa.

While Africa accounts for 70 per cent of the global reserves of platinum, 52 per cent of cobalt and 48 per cent of manganese and 70 per cent of global supplies of cobalt, Africa accounts for just three per cent of global manufacturing even as climate finance to Africa is less than three per cent.

Meddeb stated that harnessing the potential meant that Africa should leverage on infrastructure that develops the value chain for value addition and development of the economy at a time when revenue for fossil fuel is waning.