IRENA sign agreement with BAfD and renews call of action

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), and the African Development Bank (AfDB) have agreed to work closely together to advance the continent’s energy transition through joint initiatives that support investments in low-carbon energy projects. These include co-organising renewable energy investment forums as part of IRENA’s contribution to the Climate Investment Platform, and collaboration on the Bank’s annual Africa Investment Forum. Furthermore, strong emphasis will be placed on concrete support for enhancing the role of renewable energy in Nationally Determined Contributions and sustainable development objectives.

IRENA’s Global Renewables Outlook report, released earlier this year, revealed that sub-Saharan Africa could generate 67 per cent of its power from indigenous and clean renewable energy sources by 2030. Further analysis shows that the energy transition would boost GDP, improve welfare and stimulate up to 2 million additional green jobs in sub-Saharan Africa by 2050.

The declaration also provides for collaboration on the African Development Bank’s Desert to Power Initiative, which aims to mobilise public and private funding to install 10 GW of solar power by 2025 in 11 countries in the Sahel region of the African continent.

The two institutions will also engage in capacity building and knowledge exchange activities to reinforce joint efforts and cooperate on developing regional and national renewable energy case studies.

Also, in a renewed call to action, over 100 leading renewable energy players, as members of the IRENA Coalition for Action, of which ALER is part, urge governments to correct course and reset their recovery priorities through six concrete actions:

Re-evaluate stimulus measures and correct course to ensure a green recovery in line with global climate objectives.
Raise policy ambitions and clarify long-term plans for renewable generation and consumption, both centralised and decentralised.
Ensure energy markets can deliver continuity and stimulate investment and growth in renewables.
Prioritise renewable energy as a key component of industrial policies.
Align labour and education policies with a just energy transition.
Intensify international co-operation and action on COVID-19 while recognising renewable energy as a key part of the solution.

By placing a renewables-based energy transition at the heart of an economic recovery from COVID-19, governments can bring economic resilience and secure a climate-safe future.

Read the complete call to action here.