SEforALL Forum Tackles AU – EU Energy Cooperation and the Implications of the War in Ukraine
On the 18th of May 2022, panellists at the Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) Forum high-level side event in Kigali, Rwanda, all agreed that the Russian aggression in Ukraine has highlighted the importance of diversifying energy supplies and increasing renewable energy investments.
The Africa – EU Energy Partnership’s (AEEP) Head of Secretariat participated in the discussion about “Africa-Europe energy cooperation and the implications of the war in Ukraine”. The panel was hosted by the Africa-Europe Foundation (AEF) and SEforALL and discussed the repercussions that the war in Ukraine has had for the African energy transition, the change in fossil fuel prices, and the increasing pressure on gas and oil supplies.
Laurence Tubiana, CEO of the European Climate Foundation, and Johan van den Berg, Head of Secretariat, AEEP, emphasised the importance of considering the African perspective where the most important concern is energy access, while Europe’s main concern is the energy transition. Nonetheless, Wanjira Mathai, Vice-President and Regional Director for Africa at the World Resources Institute, highlighted that the current crisis serves as a unique opportunity to deepen the partnership between Africa and Europe.
Key takeaways from the high-level panel included the road to COP27, and the need for investments to continue pushing the development of the Continental Power System Masterplan (CPM) and the African Single Electricy Market (AfSEM) forward. Carla Montesi, Director at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA), and van den Berg remarked on how a robust regulatory environment will be essential to enable investments from the public and private sectors, and only then can an energy transition be truly successful.
Kigali ministerial meeting outlines principles for the African energy transition
During the Forum, ministers and high-level representatives from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Uganda, and Zimbabwe met to discuss the requirements for a just and equitable energy transition in Africa.
The outcome of the ministerial meeting was the “Kigali Communique”, which expresses seven key principles to address development gaps, and work towards economic prosperity in Africa. With the communique, Rwanda and the other represented countries call on partners to align with these principles of a just and equitable energy transition in Africa, and to turn their commitments into action.
Landmark global gathering for assessing and driving success towards SDG 7
The 2022 SEforAll Forum is regarded as one of the most important global platforms to take stock of progress, showcase success and identify solutions to and drive action towards realising Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7) and a global clean energy transition. This year’s Forum welcomed SEforAll’s 10 Year Anniversary. The organisation was launch by the Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in 2011.
The AEEP contributed the establishment of SEforALL and has been significant in influencing and moulding SEforALL’s and other initiatives’ understanding of the importance of energy data to improve and inform the campaign to end energy poverty.
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