BY Elias Ngalame
The Africa Coalition for Sustainable Energy and Access, ACSEA on June 14 2024 in Yaounde organized a workshop on the theme, “Multi-stakeholder dialogue on scaling up renewable energy access for climate change adaptation and resilience in Cameroon and COP28 Restitution”
The workshop was officially opened by the Secretary General of MINEPDED, Prof. Paul TCHAWA who represented the Minister, Hele Pierre.
He lauded the initiative by ACSEA and its leaders Dr AUgustine Njamnshi to organize dialogue on renewable energy access in line with government policy in the fight against climate change.
“ Though the government has been doing much in the energy sector, the country still faces challenges. That is why the efforts by ACSEA to encourage other stakeholders and investors to take action in driving renewable energy in the country is highly commended,” he said.
According to ACSEA CEO Dr Augustine Njamnshi, the policy dialogue that brings together law makers, scientists, researchers, civil society organisations, environment experts, government officials, media etc “was organized within the mandate of ACSEA’S project on ensuring a people centered energy transition in Africa through civil society engagements”
ACSEA through these series of dialogue was committed to help African countries triple the pace of electrification with decentralized renewable energy technologies .
“As the continent that has contributed least to the climate crisis, Africa deserves the strongest possible support and solidarity in the fight against climate change and the renewable energy transition is the way out,” Njamnshi said.
Although Africa has abundant and untapped renewable resources, it has received just two per cent of global investment in renewable energy over the past decade, he noted.
Old models of development and energy use have failed to provide Africans with universal energy access, he said, meaning hundreds of millions of people still lack reliable and affordable electricity or are cooking with polluting and harmful fuels.
In a presentation, Eugene Nforngwa, ACSEA Director of Programmes, spoke on “The importance of renewable energy access for Africa’s development in general and Cameroon in particular”
The agri-food sector in Cameroon and Africa faces many challenges due to the impacts of climate change and the lack of access to electricity, especially in rural areas where only 28% of the population has this service.
“This affects the productivity, profitability, and sustainability of the sector, which employs about 60% of the workforce and contributes to 25% of GDP in sub-Saharan Africa,”
According ACSEA renewable energy solutions represent a crucial opportunity to meet the energy needs in the agriculture sector that is key to raising farmer incomes, cutting losses,creating jobs, improving access to clean cooking fuels, and advancing climate action for mitigation and adaptation.
Renewable energy can solve these challenges by providing reliable, affordable, and clean energy sources that can power irrigation, cold storage, processing, packaging, and distribution of agricultural products, as well as enhancing resilience and adaptation to climate change.
According to the concept note on the multi-stakeholders workshop, Cameroon has a vision of becoming an emerging economy by 2035, which requires a reliable and affordable energy supply to support ist economic growth and social development.
“The country has an abundant renewable energy resources , including hydropower, solar, wind and biomass, that can offset energy flow deficit,” the release noted.
Cameroon it was revealed has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 32% by 2035 compared to a business as usual scenario as part of its National Determined Contribution under the Paris Agreement.
“ Renewable energy is a critical component of this commitment,” the release said.
