- The report says globally, $8 trillion of investment is needed for new renewables and $4 trillion for grid and storage infrastructure
- At COP28 in Dubai, governments agreed to triple global renewable capacity by 2030
Sub-Saharan Africa needs $100 billion (Sh155 billion) every year for investment in renewable energy to align the region with global targets and ensure energy access.
A new report by Think Tank Climate Analytics says this is five times its current investment levels.
The report says globally, $8 trillion of investment is needed for new renewables and $4 trillion for grid and storage infrastructure to deliver the 2030 tripling goal agreed at COP28—or combined, $2 trillion every year on average.
The 2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey says 58 per cent of Kenyan households have electricity, including 90 per cent in urban households and 36 per cent in rural households.
KDHS says 24 per cent of the household population in Kenya has access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking, including stoves and cookers using electricity, LPG/natural gas/biogas, solar and alcohol/ethanol.
The use of clean fuels and technology for cooking is substantially higher in urban areas than in rural areas, at 59 per cent versus six per cent.
The Economic Survey Report for 2022 indicates increasing cases of diseases of the respiratory system are largely associated with air pollution.
The survey shows that cases handled in 2020 were 16,562,227, while in 2021, reported cases were 20,613,455, an increase of 21.9 per cent.
At COP28 in Dubai, governments agreed to triple global renewable capacity by 2030.
This, along with doubling energy efficiency, is possibly the most powerful action the world can take in the transition away from fossil fuels in this critical decade.
To guide efforts towards the goal, governments need a clear roadmap and information on investment and climate finance needs.
Civil society groups on the other hand need benchmarks to hold governments to account.
The report breaks down what a 1.5ºC-aligned renewables rollout would look like at the regional level and calculate the associated investment needs.
It calculates how fast different regions need to act to triple global renewables based on current capacities and future needs.
Renewable capacity in Sub-Saharan Africa needs to scale rapidly by a factor of seven (double the global average) due to historic underinvestment and energy access needs.
Christian Aid Pan Africa Senior Advocacy Adviser Joab Okanda said the world is not in short supply of money to fill the renewables financing gap and transition to a low-carbon world.
“It is only that the money is either flowing in the wrong direction or being spent on the wrong things. The push for the reform of the global financial architecture to deliver for people and the planet goes beyond Africa’s quest for debt forgiveness and access to affordable loans,” he said.
“It touches on a system that is so rigged against Africa that it loses $88.9 billion annually to illicit financial outflows. Correct this injustice, stop giving money to fossil fuel companies, stop subsidising coal, oil and gas with tax breaks and the continent is already able to bridge the investment gap on renewables.”
Power Shift Africa Energy Lead Amos Wemanya said for a long time, Africa has been left out of global development progress and is missing out on the energy transition.
“The continent’s renewable energy potential is enormous, yet it accounts for only 10 per cent of the continent’s electricity generation mix and only 20 per cent of the total installed electricity generation capacity in Africa in 2019," he said.
"The problem has always been the meagre financial flows, which must be corrected through a radical reform of the financial architecture.”
350Africa.org regional director Landry Ninteretse said the report draws attention to the funding gap that must be filled to triple renewable energy globally.
“With adequate funding, innovative sources of finance and debt cancellation at scale, Africa can make the most of its renewable energy resources to achieve an equitable and rapid transition that lessens the worst effects of the climate crisis and expands access to energy across the continent," he said.
"Thus, it is imperative that funds be redirected from harmful fossil fuels to renewable energy sources and those wealthy countries—that have historically been at the center of the climate crisis—provide financial support for the deployment of clean energy in developing nations."