Climate Change and Energy Transition: What Are They and What are the Issues?
7 April 2022 • 11:00AM EDT
Africa is at a crossroads. It faces the vagaries of climate change, looming commitments around energy transition and a planned development path based on using its extractive resources to reduce poverty and inequality. Under the Paris Agreement, developed and developing countries pledged to limit the increase in global average temperature to well below 2 °C and to continue efforts to limit it further to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels. To limit global warming to 1.5°C, global emissions must reach net zero by 2050, according to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Meeting this target requires a large-scale mobilization of political and economic capital to accelerate the process of replacing carbon-intensive energy infrastructure with low-carbon energy sources.
As part of a new webinar series. "East And Southern Africa CSO Energy Transition Joint Capacity-Building and Road To COP27," NRGI hosted a session on 7 April to provide a general overview of climate change and energy transition, both from a conceptual perspective and in terms of concrete global developments, including global positions and commitments made to achieve the net-zero goal. The purpose was to provide civil society participants with a deeper understanding of climate change and the energy transition, as well as the ongoing debates, issues, and opportunities for engagement at the national and regional levels. It also addressed issues of technology, innovation and financing for climate change and energy transition initiatives.
Featuring:
- Nelly Busingye, Africa membership partnership manager, PWYP
- Theonestina Kassiga, program associate, NRGI
- Moses Kulaba, East Africa regional manager, NRGI
- Professor Godwell Nhamo, University of South Africa
- Mukupa Nsenduluka, Tax Justice Network Africa (Moderator)
The second event in the series focused on the energy transition and the future of oil, coal and gas extraction.