Renewables put high on agenda for needy Africa

Date: 27/05/04

A COALITION of African countries have pledged to promote alternative energies ahead of an international conference on renewables next month in Bonn.

Delegates from 25 countries and organizations at a recent meeting in Nairobi adopted an "African Statement". It suggests governments make renewables an "integral part" of energy policies as Africa suffers from acute energy poverty where the vast majority of the population relies on biomass to satisfy its daily energy needs.

"Economic development is seriously hampered by the absence of reliable modern energy supply systems," and health, education and other social services show "serious deficiencies, which are partly caused by the non-availability of energy services", the statement stresses.

It states the use of biomass - such as wood gathered daily for heating and cooking - in Africa has to take on more sustainable forms since vast swathes of the population will remain reliant on this resource over coming decades.

African ministers also want the Bonn conference to impress upon the international community that hydropower is a "vast and economically attractive but largely untapped renewable energy source" for that continent.

The 19-point statement also calls for the inclusion of renewable energy education and public awareness in curricula, putting renewables on the agenda for consultation between African countries and major cooperating partners, including the EU.

More than 1,000 renewable energy experts are due to attend the 1-4 June conference in Bonn, first proposed by German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, to "chart the way towards an expansion of renewable energy worldwide".

A coalition of African countries has pledged to promote alternative energies. A recent meeting in Nairobi adopted an 'African Statement' which suggests governments make renewables an 'integral part' of energy policies in Africa which suffers from acute energy poverty.

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