Team Europe pledges €20 billion for the Africa-EU Green Energy Initiative (AEGEI) at COP28
On 2 December 2023, at the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) in Dubai, UAE, the Executive Vice President of the European Commission Maroš Šefčovič announced a pledge of more than €20 billion for the Africa-EU Green Energy Initiative (AEGEI). Vice President Šefčovič made the pledge on behalf of Team Europe, the European counterpart of the broader Africa-EU Partnership.
The Africa-EU Green Energy Initiative (AEGEI) was proposed during the 6th African Union-European Union Summit in February 2022 and aims to consolidate European joint sustained efforts to support green energy investments in Africa. AEGEI’s goal is to support the deployment of at least 50 GW of additional renewable energy generation capacity by 2030, providing at least 100 million people in Africa with access to electricity.
This initiative strives to support a thriving partnership between Africa and Europe that strengthens the energy capabilities of the African continent without creating dependencies. Prior to the announcement at COP28, the AEGEI has already fostered various studies, proposals, and projects at the national, regional, continental levels. For example, investment for a solar power plant in Namibia, studies for a regional hydropower plant in DRC, Rwanda, and Burundi, a study on the feasibility of an electricity interconnection cable between Egypt and Greece, and perhaps the most ambitious, the development of the Continental Power Systems Masterplan have all been possible through the AEGEI.
The EU actively supports African stakeholders to develop the Continental Power Systems Master Plan (CMP for Africa’s Green Vision, creating one grid for one continent. The CMP along with the Africa Single Electricity Market (AfSEM) aims to establish the world’s largest electricity market and curb the electricity deficit, and allowing a well-balanced sharing of affordable, reliable, and clean energy resources.
African Energy Ministers officially adopted all the CMP strategic reports, recognised them as the blueprint of the AfSEM, and called on African Heads of States to adopt both AfSEM and CMP as a Flagship Project of the AU Agenda 2063 during the upcoming African Union Summit in February 2024. Developing far-sighted, affordable, and climate-friendly expansion plans for energy systems is a high priority for many African countries.
More about the Africa-EU Green Energy Initiative (AEGEI)
The AEGEI is an integral part of the EU’s Africa Investment Package under the Global Gateway, which is the EU’s comprehensive strategy for working with partner countries globally to boost smart, clean, and secure investments. AEGEI aims to promote energy efficiency, support reforms for a conducive regulatory environment for private investment, and foster market integration.
Since the launch of the Africa-EU Global Gateway Investment Package, the first 30 national and regional actions and projects under the Africa-EU Green Energy Initiative have been approved by the European Commission with the then budget of €540 million. With the additional contribution of €20 billion from Member States and EDFIs, the commitment marks another tangible step towards an energy secure Africa.
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