Africa: Continent’s Energy Crisis to Take Centre Stage At Lisbon

Africa’s worsening energy situation would take centre stage at the revived (European Union (EU)-Africa Summit in December this year in Lisbon.

As one of the policy initiatives to be discussed, the EU-Africa Partnership on Energy is expected to help solve the energy problems of Africa.
On both continents, energy security, access to secure, sustainable and affordable energy services, and the sustainable and efficient management of energy resources are prerequisites for development and prosperity.

Even though Africa has abundant energy resources, it currently has the world’s lowest rate of access to modern energy. Africa has been having serious energy shortages than Europe. Countries such as Zimbabwe, Ghana, Nigeria, and Togo among others are in dire need of energy.

It is estimated that 600 million Africans do not have access to electricity, and use wood for cooking and heating. 400,000 Africans, mainly women and children also die every year of respiratory diseases related to the indoor air pollution from using wood and other traditional fuels.

According to Commission of the European Communities statement which was released last month in Brussels, the investment needs are huge – according to the World Bank, ensuring 100% access to electricity in Sub-Sahara Africa by 2030 would require an annual investment of – 8.27 billion.

“Already now Europe and Africa are closely interlinked in the energy sector: Europe benefits from African energy exports, and Africa benefits from European technical and financial support in the energy sector,” the report said.

It stressed that the increasing global concerns on energy security, energy access and climate change have clearly reinforced the links between the energy future of the two continents, and created the need for joint approaches.

AllAfrica