ENERGY SECURITY AND SUSTAINABILITY NOWADAYS ARE TOP OF THE AGENDA FOR MANY GOVERNMENTS WORLDWIDE. AFRICA IS NO EXCEPTION. YET, WHILE GLOBAL RENEWABLE ENERGY INVESTMENTS REACHED RECORD-HIGH LEVELS, RENEWABLES ARE STILL CRITICALLY UNDERFUNDED IN AFRICA, SIGNALING URGENT WORK AHEAD

The global energy sector is in the midst of a transformation. Spurred on by years of crisis – from the Covid-19 aftermath, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, to the impacts of climate change – the global energy transition is well underway, with ever-increasing investment and momentum for net-zero targets by mid-century. Energy security and sustainability nowadays go hand in hand and are top of the agenda for many governments worldwide.

Africa is no exception, with the continent facing rapidly growing energy demand, critical energy access gaps, and an imperative for development. Africa’s need to accelerate its socio-economic development could immensely benefit from accelerating clean energy deployment. Failing to do so poses major threats to the continent already suffering the most from the impacts of climate change. Yet, while global renewable energy investments reached record- high levels, renewables are still critically underfunded in Africa, signaling urgent work ahead.

While global renewable energy investments rose to a record-high of USD 434 billion in 2021, only 0.6 per cent of that investment went to Africa – an 11-year low. This shows that despite strong clean energy investor appetite, financing and investment don’t end up where it is needed most. The continent had already attracted only 2 per cent of global renewable energy investments to Africa in the past decade.

Renewable energy investment must fl ow where it is most needed and where natural resources, such as wind and sun, are plentiful. Investment barriers need to be addressed, and clean energy fi nancing has to scale up in Africa, or the continent will lose an immense opportunity to leapfrog 20th-century infrastructure toward reaching sustainable economic growth and development as per the UN Agenda 2030 and Agenda 2063 goals.[...]

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