AFRICA’S ENERGY FUTURE IS RENEWABLE

Its sustainable economic development depends on it. THIS WAYIS NOTTHE WAY WE NEEDA BOLDCOMMITMENTTO DELIVERSDG 7 IN AFRICABY 2030 Directed by RES4Africa Foundation’s missionto “create enabling environments for scalingup renewable energy investments in Africa”,the foundation’s annual publication is aninstitutional tool to support dialogue andraise awareness on accelerating Africa’sclean energy development. RES4Africaconducts continuous strategic intelligenceto understand and act on the critical issuesrelated to scaling up renewable energyinvestments in Africa. ABOUT THERES4AFRICAFLAGSHIPPUBLICATION As a key outcome of its strategic intelligence,the annual flagship publication seeks to:• Shed light on a specific issue, therebyhelping to raise awareness on a theme ofconvergence between the internationaldevelopment community, countries, andrenewable energy business leaders;•Provide high-level insight into the topic fordecision-makers who are looking to followRES4Africa Foundation’s call for action onthe way forward; and The report draws upon existing RES4Africa’sanalysis, insights from members and partners,and African energy leaders – includingRES4Africa’s Executive Committee, theInternational Advisory Board, and the YouthTask Force. The publication was developedin collaboration with Enel Foundation,RES4Africa’s longstanding knowledge partner,and was released during a dedicated eventon June 15, 2023 in Rome, Italy, in cooperationwith the United Nations Development Program(UNDP) Rome Center for Climate Action andEnergy Transition. •Contribute to the rapidly evolvinginternational renewable energy scene,thereby helping to accelerate progresstowards achieving universal energy accessin Africa by 2030, in line with the UnitedNations’ Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) and the African Union Agenda 2063.In light of global developments, RES4Africa’ssixth flagship report aims to understand therapidly changing global energy transitionlandscape, take stock of current challengesand opportunities for Africa’s future energypathways, and reaffirm RES4Africa’spositioning on the role that renewable energypower technologies can play to support Africa’ssustainable economic development.The analysis’ key messages inform the strategicpositioning and work programs of RES4Africa,including its institutional relations with bilateraland multilateral partners. “ForewordSalvatore Bernabei, President, RES4AfricaRoberto Vigotti, Secretary General, RES4Africa exception, with the continent facing rapidlygrowing energy demand, critical energy accessgaps, and an imperative for development.Africa’s imperative to accelerate its socio-economic development in a resilient andsustainable way could immensely benefit fromaccelerating clean energy deployment, as wasstated at the COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh. Failingto do so poses major threats to the continentalready suffering the most from the impacts ofclimate change. Africa’sClean EnergyTransformation– Renewablesat the heart ofAfrica’s futureenergy pathways Yet, while global renewable energyinvestments reached record-high levels,renewables are still critically underfunded inAfrica, signaling urgent work ahead. Despiteglobal renewable energy investment reachingrecord-high levels of USD 434 billion in 2021,only 0.6% of that investment went to Africa – an11-year low. This indicates that, despite stronginvestor appetite in the global clean energytransition, financing and investment don’t endup yet where it is needed most. The continenthad already attracted only 2% of globalrenewable energy investments in the past The global energy sector is in the midst of a transformation.Spurred on by a year of crisisand change – from the Covid-19 aftermath, theRussian invasion of Ukraine, and soaring prices,to the impacts of climate change – the globalenergy transition is now well underway, withever-increasing clean energy investment andmomentum for net-zero targets by mid-century.Energy security and sustainability nowadaysgo hand in hand and are top of the agendafor many governments worldwide. Africa is no two decades. Renewable energy investmentmust flow where it is most needed and wherenatural resources, such as wind and sun,are plentiful. Investment barriers need to beaddressed, and clean energy financing has toscale up in Africa, or the continent will lose animmense opportunity to leapfrog 20th-centuryinfrastructure toward reaching sustainableeconomic growth and development as per theUN Agenda 2030 and Agenda 2063 goals in thecoming decades. Africa’s twin goals of sustainable access toenergy and green industrialization. In the run-up to COP28 by the end of this year, it is moreimportant than ever to make the business casefor sustainable energy development in Africaand set the record straight on renewables toinform energy decisions. Renewable energy is reaching newcompetitiveness levels, even in today’scontext of energy crisis. Power generationcosts from renewable energy sources havealready dropped for