Our Mission: Food, Education, Medicine

New report shows rise in Africa’s energy transition

energy transition - climateaction

New report shows rise in Africa’s energy transition

DLA Piper Africa has released a detailed report on the Africa Energy Futures: Horizon 2030.

The leading law firm, through the report, analyzed 21 countries and the energy transition in Africa, while predicting emerging challenges and opportunities in the next 5-10years.

The 21 countries were individually analyzed using uniform questions and themes in a bid to enable comparative analysis.

Despite the efforts being taken to decarbonize African countries, many areas are still very much rely on fossil fuel even though about 12 out of the 21 countries in the report depend on clean energy as an important part of power augmentation.

It also highlights the notable differences between countries that have diversified energy supply and power systems which is leading to uneven development across Africa.

According to the report, despite the differences, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel as it spots a lucid theme and central focus by African governments in the area of scaling renewable energy capacity as part of their agenda to meet the ever-rising energy demand (which is expected to double by 2040) and drive the energy transition agenda.

In some nations (Angola, Burundi, and Ethiopia), it will come in form of expanded hydroelectric capacity while the focus for others (Botswana, Kenya, and South Africa) will be on developing solar and wind infrastructure with the aim of reducing dependence on fossil fuels and biomass sources.

DLA Piper’s Head of the UK Energy and Natural Resources practice and Partner, James Carter said, “Given the post-COP26 backdrop and findings, there is a heavy focus on how the energy transition will help arrest climate change.” 

He believes that Africa, because of its size and predicted future growth and development, will play a key role in decarbonizing the global economy through its adoption of renewables and other technological breakthroughs.

“Our report highlights how far African countries have come and what can actually be achieved in a 2030 horizon,” added Carter.

Summary of the report:

  • Nearly all of the 21 countries that were surveyed have put legislative and/or investment programs in place for renewables, which provides opportunities for African countries to pioneer the energy transition and enable a large-scale cross-border investment opportunity.
  • In the next 5-10 years, it is expected that fossil fuels and biomass will still make up a significant part of the energy mix for almost all of the jurisdictions. Despite that, Algeria, Angola, and Nigeria are exceptions as they continue to promote and secure investment in new oil and gas developments.
  • The incentives for transitioning to renewable energy in Africa are not only recognized and acknowledged but are seen as a remedy for overcoming generation deficits and achieving middle-income nation status by 2030.
  • To ensure energy transition, African countries will need to put in place, attractive legislative frameworks and incentivize clean energy investment.

You can download the full report here.

Related Post

Latest Post

March 9, 2024
Building a sustainable financial framework f
March 8, 2024
February 2024 has been declared the hottest
March 8, 2024
International Women’s Day 2024: Addressing
March 5, 2024
5 Critical environmental challenges in Afric
February 28, 2024
200 million Africans at risk of hunger as cl
February 27, 2024
Nigeria is set to launch a circular economy