AEEP Energy Talks Spotlight – COP29 and Beyond: Strengthened AU-EU Cooperation for Financing and Implementing Africa’s NDCs

The 17th AEEP Energy Talks on 9 December 2024 explored the outcomes from COP29 in Baku and what they mean for the development of energy infrastructure in Africa.

The webinar also highlighted ongoing collaboration to finance and support action to implement the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in Africa, particularly through energy projects, and thus contributing to the achievement of SDG7.

Speakers included representatives from the EU Delegation to the African Union, Climate Parliament, African Energy Commission (AFREC), UNFCCC Regional Collaboration Centre for West and Central Africa, Ministry of Energy of Malawi, and the research centre VITO.

The panellists concluded that COP29 was modestly successful. Even though governments agreed on a new collective annual climate finance goal that triples the current USD 100 billion a year goal to at least USD 300 billion annually by 2035, it is still far below the needs in Africa.

On NDCs the speakers agreed it is time for African countries to move beyond cosmetic targets towards realistic contributions that are based on robust data, enhanced technical capacity and project implementation in close collaboration with partners.