African Economic Conference Calls for Investment in Renewable Energy

By Staff Writer

Addis Ababa-- - Africa should unleash its immense natural resource wealth to pursue sustainable economic growth and development, said the participants of the African Economic Conference as the event came to a close Friday.

Africa has sustained a decade of solid progress, including impressive rates of economic growth. But the region faces the daunting task of making growth more broadly shared, creating employment and embarking on long-term and sustainable human development.

This would mean creating resilient, low-carbon economies, which would not only help contribute to global climate change mitigation efforts but would generate economic and business opportunities, including new employment prospects, and boost trade to the benefit of all Africans.“Making the growth process more inclusive and sustainable are two objectives that must go hand in hand,” said Tegegnework Gettu, Director of UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Africa.

To achieve green growth, the region must begin to invest in its renewable and clean energy resources. It must also make sustainable use of its natural resources such as land and forests and capitalize on new opportunities to promote sustainable agriculture. Initiatives to mobilize carbon credits by slowing down deforestation and forest degradation are already underway and paying dividends.

To achieve those objectives, Africa will need access to financing, technology and capacity-building.

“African economies need better access to various sources of international funding. It will help them create more sustainable economies and green and inclusive growth on the whole continent,” said Mthuli Ncube, Chief Economist of the African Development Bank. The AfDB and its partners support the establishment of an African Green Fund in the near future. It would allow Africa to develop low carbon and climate resilient economies.

Attracting interest from public and private institutions will also be key. This will be facilitated by generating a market environment that is conducive to technological innovation and investment in promising new sectors. Participants said African governments and public institutions must play a key role in creating that environment.  

The participants called for practical steps to advance sustainable development. “Radical changes would be required in behaviour from governments, firms and consumers and matched by sufficient financial resources if this approach is to succeed,” said Abdoulie Janneh, Executive Secretary of UNECA.

The African Economic Conference is a major annual forum where high level officials, development actors, scholars and experts in economics and related subjects exchange knowledge and seek solutions for the challenges facing the African continent. This year’s edition will inform discussions ahead of the Seventh Conference of the Parties on the Rio+20 summit of 2012 and the Seventeenth Conference of the Parties on Climate Change, to be held in Durban, South Africa next month.