By:JusticiaShipena
Mines and energy minister Tom Alweendo says pushing Africa to move forward with an energy transition on any timetable other than its own disrespects African priorities.
He was speaking at a symposium on ‘maximising economic growth from renewable and non-renewable energy sources in Namibia’ hosted by the Bank of Namibia’s (BoN) on Thursday.
The BoN symposium explored ways how Namibia can ensure maximum benefit from its renewable and non-renewable resources.
However, despite global commitments to reduce fossil fuel reliance to address climate change, Alweendoinsisted that the timetable for energy transition for Africa must be crafted by Africans themselves to ensure a just energy transition and also not to come at the price of economic development on the continent.
“Pushing Africa to move forward with an energy transition on any timetable other than our own is just another example of the lack of respect the global community has for African priorities,” said the minister.
South Africa and Indonesia recently received a combined US$1 billion (roughly N$18 billion) from the Climate Investment Funds to replace some of their coal-fired power plants, as the world looks to push countries towards renewable energy to cut planet-warming emissions.
The estimated combined recoverable finds for Namibia’s recent oil discoveries stand at almost four billion barrels. Alweendo previously said that Namibia will exploit oil and gas resources parallel to its green hydrogen projects.
The energy minister says the debate on energy transition is more about how to do it and not so much about whether to do it.
“For example, developing countries have a slightly different view on how to manage the energy transition than developed countries. Developing countries feel that the ‘how’ and the ‘when’ of the energy transition debate are being dictated to them by the developed countries of the West.”
The minister further argued that he finds it unreasonable when some countries and global interest groups try to dissuade Africa from leveraging all its natural resources.
“At the same time, there is a distinct unwillingness to recognise and acknowledge the positive impact that resources have had on their current standards of living,” he stated.
He further stressed that the mindset of some of these countries shows a total lack of concern about the negative impacts of African countries rushing their switch from fossil fuels to renewables.
Hence, he said what is needed is for Africa to develop its own energy transition timeline actively, adding: “One that takes into account the urgency of the climate change crisis and the needs of the African people. It may not be easy, but it will be necessary to take true ownership and custodianship of our natural resources.”
Alweendo said it is not that Africans do not understand the complexity of investing in the natural resources sectors, but that they also understand that investing in these sectors does not come cheap.
He believes that future successful investors in natural resources will be those that can reimagine their businesses. “The successful and sustainable ones will be those that are able to deliver on both making a profit for their shareholders and positively impacting societies where they invest and operate.”
However, he said this will only happen when investments in natural resources include a commitment and investment plan to make life better for communities, noting that the lack of access to energy puts people at a disadvantage in almost every area of life.
“It must be acknowledged that there is no doubt that renewables will play a role in addressing our energy poverty, and at the same time addressing climate change. However, we are not there yet, and even when that happens, renewable energy may not be sufficient to eradicate energy poverty on the continent without significant infrastructural investment that we do not have the capacity for at present.”
The minister also stressedthe fact that in the energy transition discussion, Namibia occupies a unique position.
“Given the recent oil discovery, we are fortunate in that we have both renewable and non-renewable energy sources. It is our intention to harness our fossil fuel resources, including natural gas, for our domestic, regional, and continental needs,” he added.
He said that Namibia, like many African countries, is faced with some formidable socio-economic challenges,a picture that can change if Namibia reimage its economic potential.