President Hage Geingob says that to advance African economies and meet the plight of the people, a healthy and robust energy mix is required.
Dr. Geingob addressed the Africa Energy Week conference underway in Cape Town, South Africa, where he explained Namibia's plans to industrialise using both its renewable and non-renewable sources. Namibia and a number of African countries are signatories to international conventions advocating for clean energy transition, and more than ever, calls have been loud to honour the 2015 Paris Agreement.
President Geingob says affordable energy for all Africans remains an immediate and absolute priority, as countries have been working to ensure access to energy to industrialise, grow economies, and become dealers of hope for the largest demographic on the continent, the youth. Through the recent discoveries of oil and the production of green hydrogen, President Geingob ruled out any contradiction in the development of two energy sources.
"The question is, is it contradictory for Namibia to advocate for the exploration of hydrocarbons on its shores while also pursuing a burgeoning green and blue economy? In my view, the answer is a resounding no! Not only can the two coexist, but they are indeed wholly interdependent and complementary in nature. Hydrocarbons continue to power the global economic engine today, with a just energy transition expected to take several decades before many nations achieve carbon neutrality."
The Namibian leader informed the conference that developed nations today are investing billions derived from hydrocarbon-fueled industries to subsidise cutting-edge solutions to produce cleaner engines of growth. These, he says, are undermining and, in some cases, totally undoing prospective business cases in emerging nations with the superior natural endowments necessary for the development of new green industries.
"How can less affluent nations with responsible policy ambitions compete with their wealthier counterparts, who are today continuing to exploit both non-renewable and renewable energy sources, despite having far superior socio-economic per capita metrics? This is why, in Namibia, our stance remains that for as long as the world continues to need a dynamic energy mix, Namibia is more than willing to meet these global energy demands while strategically using the proceeds to invest in cleaner, more sustainable industries ourselves."
More than 600 million Africans are facing energy insecurity, despite the continent being endowed with natural resources to produce electricity.
Africa Energy Week is thus also advocating for affordability and local value addition to cushion Africans against the exorbitant prices of energy products, including electricity. The four-day conference is expected to shape the global dialogue and promote the African position on the future of the energy sector.