William Ruto
President William Ruto has expressed concern over the underfunding of renewable energy development in Africa.
Speaking in Seoul, South Korea, on Wednesday when he addressed the High-Level Business Segment on Climate Change Response and Transition to Carbon-Free Energy, Ruto said that while it was encouraging that 2023 would see the largest increase in renewable energy capacity, with the addition of about 500 gigawatts globally and new investments worth $600 billion, Africa fared poorly.
The President noted that Africa has the highest untapped renewable energy potential in the world, but only accounted for 3 gigawatts of the global increase.
“The continent with the world’s greatest potential and demand currently accounts for a paltry 1.6% of the world’s total renewable energy capacity,” he said.
He pointed out that Africa offers huge opportunities for wealthy investors from the Global North in clean energy, offering a win-win outcome for them and the continent.
“African leaders have endorsed the Nairobi Declaration, which sets the continent’s green energy generation target to increase fivefold from 56GW in 2022 to at least 300GW by 2030,” Ruto said.
The President said the recent floods in Kenya and other parts of the world were a result of climate change and called for concerted efforts to mitigate the effects of the phenomenon.
He said Kenya has made tremendous efforts in renewable and clean energy, adding that the country’s electricity grid is 93% green.
He urged Korea and Korean investors to continue to support Kenya in the adoption of clean energy as the country pursues an ambitious plan to expand the current grid from 3GW to 100GW by 2040.
“The ambition is realistic because Kenya is endowed with abundant potential in every type of renewable energy,” he said.
The President said Africa launched the Africa Green Industrialisation Initiative at COP28 to promote the growth of clean energy manufacturing.
Further, Ruto said this potential puts the continent at an advantage to seize the economic opportunities within the global energy transition.
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