Events facts
Europe/Sofia
This event will be livestreamed on @UNDP Africa platforms.
Renewable energy holds tremendous promise for Africa and the rest of the world. The pivot to a low carbon future is a necessity for all. Many of the bigger economies in Africa have shown firm commitment towards accelerated use of modern renewable energy and are leading energy transition efforts, while some of Africa’s smaller countries have also set ambitious renewable energy targets. Over 44 African countries have made updated commitments in Nationally Determined Contributions. The big question now is: how can this be done in a manner that does not compromise the continent’s development aspirations?
With Africa’s population forecast to grow to 2 billion people by 2050, two out of every five children in the world will be born on the continent. The future of these young people will depend greatly on getting the transition to greener, cleaner, abundant and sustainable energy right. It is this energy that will power Africa’s industrialization and development while also creating the jobs of the future and reducing vulnerability to external shocks caused by the movement in the price of fossil fuels.
And yet, despite the abundant potential sources of renewable energy the continent is blessed with, Africa’s capability for production of renewables is at best, nascent. Africa has received only 2% of global renewable energy investments in the last two decades, with the vast majority of these investments flowing to a handful of countries on the continent. Coupled with that, Africa holds large deposits of the minerals that will power a global shift to renewable energy. This is why finding effective solutions to how Africa can power its development - and provide solutions for the world´s transition to clean energy - is a huge challenge - and an unprecedented opportunity in this time of multiple shocks and uncertainty.
This invite-only event is convened at COP27 by UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa (RBA); the African Influencers for Development (AI4Dev), UNDP´s multi-stakeholder partnerships platform, and the Africa Business Council, the African Union´s private sector advocacy platform. The event is hosted by Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) in the Innovation Zone (300m from the Blue Zone).
As part of this event, CTCN Director Rose Mwebaza will give remarks in a segment to launch and showcase the Africa Innovates Magazine produced jointly by the CTCN and UNDP (also an AI4Dev initiative) that profiles 50 Innovators across the continent. The session (6pm) will start with a short visual presentation of the innovations.