NewsSouth AfricaAfricaInternationalEducationHealthMotoringTechSportPoliticsBusinessThought LeaderEditorialThe DiplomatThe Green GuardianArts & CultureEventsPower of WomenWebinarsPartner ContentMoreNewsletterResearchAbout UsPowering Africa up: A low-carbon energy future is neededLebo Mahlare22 MAR 2019, 03:003 min readShareFacebookXLinkedInWhatsAppEmailUptake for off-grid electricity is expected to increase in the coming years. (Photo: Oupa Nkosi)There have been many articles written on the dearth of electrification on the African continent, and the desperate need for many countries to address their energy needs. One such widely quoted statistic is that of the International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook, which states that over 550-million people on the continent are without access to electricity. Despite progress made in sub-Saharan Africa in powering the region, efforts are still not keeping good pace with population growth, and many of those without electricity live in rural areas.
Africa is well-endowed in natural resources, from fossil fuels to abundant sunlight. Much of the strategies of electrification have centered around the cost, ease of electrification, human health impacts from using fossil-fuel based primary energy and climate change. Climate change is becoming widely recognized as one of the foremost challenges facing Africa, and the continent will also be the hardest hit.
The climate change vulnerability index lists seven of the 10 countries most at risk to climate effects in Africa, experiencing issues from droughts in southern Africa to flooding in e
Source: Mail & Guardian
