RENdez-vous Africa: How to Ensure The Just Dimension of Energy Transition Processes in Africa?

Wednesday 11 May 2022

Time: 14:00 – 15:30 Central Africa Time (14:00 – 15:30 CET Paris)

During this RENdez-vous Africa we had a discussion on how renewable energy can support the just dimension of energy transition processes involving African countries and share your perspective on the topic.

Renewable energy can support economic development, innovation, and improved access to energy services across Africa. But the shift to an economy underpinned with energy efficiency and renewable energy will bring change on many levels. We need to ensure that the benefits and impacts are evenly distributed, analyse where inequity may occur and work collectively to ensure widespread transition that is just and fair.

• What does energy justice mean for Africans?
• What are the unique characteristics of the African contexts defining it?
• Who are the main actors leading the discussion in the continent?
• What are the conditions and benefits to achieve a just, fair and inclusive transition?

Watch the video below and read the Africa Roundup #4 newsletter.

Panellists

Competing priorities—economic recovery, stabilising health crisis—exacerbated by COVID-19 are reducing the space for a public discourse for the uptake of renewables and the broader energy transition.

This clearly threatens the momentum renewables have generated over the last decade, and even risks reversing some of the hard-fought gains. The weak links in the sector, i.e. scattered voices, disconnected priorities, limited scale and resources need to be strengthened, particularly in critical hot-spots and in vulnerable countries. We need to work together more strategically, to bring renewables to the centre of attention and planning to drive economic growth, social equity, and innovation.

Doing this requires integrating renewables across all sectors and creating societal support. It is also about building and bringing the community together more strategically, to increase its collective influence in the global energy debate, linking global and local voices.

Making renewable energy mainstream also requires forging bridges outside of the renewable energy bubble well beyond the “usual suspects”. We need to identify, build on and collaborate with players to collectively widen and amplify the renewable energy voice. This means broadening the renewable energy community regionally and into new sectors. It also involves bringing the right information to this community so it can be more effective, strategic and influential.

The strategies and narratives to make renewable energy mainstream differ regionally. We need to understand the underlying drivers and drags to renewables uptake in each region and develop strategies to address or enhance them. In Africa, strategies to move to renewable energy need to be situated in the context of green recovery, energy growth and sustainable development. This is critical to create societal support for renewables, support economic development and innovation and develop a renewable narrative beyond the climate topic.

REN21 hosts these events to inspire and to offer opportunities to learn and share across sectors. While each event is unique, one thing remains consistent: at every RENdez-vous there is time to meet and network with people from the greater renewables community, inclusive of many different sectors. Learn more and join the next event…