Renewable energy’s untapped potential on the African continent is a key solution to its energy and development goals, as it can broaden electricity access, increase investment and allow African countries to become climate leaders through a participatory and people-centred approach.
Electricity and energy are key African issues: with 2/3 of its population still without access to electricity services and electricity demand assumed to triple until 2030, African nations’ energy policies are essential to achieve their development goals.
On 22 and 23 May, 900 decision-makers from countries, regions and cities as well as stakeholders and experts from around the world convened for the International Conference on Climate Action (ICCA 2019) in Heidelberg. Their aim: strengthening mitigation and adaptation measures, especially in urban areas, by improving coordination and cooperation across all levels of government and with civil society and the private sector.
The G20 has a strong economic interest in limiting global warming to 1.5°C due to climate change’s negative impact on total economic activity, the productivity of the workforce and the smooth functioning of financial markets.
The Paris Agreement sets an irreversible direction for countries to tackle the climate crisis and pursue sustainable development. However, the Agreement still has to show that it can trigger the necessary ambition of action. One potential way to accelerate action are transformative implementation partnerships.
