Renewable energy investments key in Africa's COVID-19 recovery

Investing in renewable energy could help African countries greatly in their post-coronavirus recovery strategy, according to the Economic Commission for Africa and Renewable Energy Solutions for Africa.

This is in addition to linking recovery investment to strengthening the foundation of future sustainable development.

The sentiments by the organizations follows their publication of a study exploring the impact of coronavirus on African economies and their energy sectors.

The study, which was done in partnership with SDA Bocconi with the support of Southern African Power Pool and Ethiopian Women in Energy, analyses the role of renewable energy in the post-coronavirus phase, providing policy recommendations to sustain growth in a new sustainable equilibrium.

"In this peculiar socioeconomic context, the strategic relevance of the energy sector in guaranteeing the well-being of our cities and populations becomes even clearer," Vera Songwe, executive secretary of the Economic Commission of Africa, and Roberto Vigotti, secretary general of Renewable Energy Solutions for Africa, said in a joint statement.

The leaders agreed on the need to urgently equip Africa with a network of hospital facilities and health centers with secure and reliable access to electricity, along with stimulating the continent's socioeconomic development.

"Access to electricity for the 600 million people in Africa who still do not have it needs to be guaranteed. In this time of uncertainty, investment in building back better is important, including in the vital area of energy transition towards renewable energies," they said.

They said investment in sustainable energy will help mitigate the impact of climate change while widening access to energy.

"It will be essential, thanks to the economic and financial stimulus that will follow this crisis, to build and strengthen the energy system in a clean and sustainable way, pursuing a deep de-carbonization and preparing a more resilient socioeconomic system to external shocks such as COVID-19," Songwe and Vigotti said.

Meanwhile, during a Res4Africa and Economic Commission of Africa webinar held on June 24 on the impact of coronavirus on Africa's energy sector, panelists agreed building back better will require placing sustainable energy investments at the heart of the continent's recovery strategy.

The renewable energy sector, they agreed, can play a fundamental role in the fight against the disastrous effects of coronavirus with stimulus measures to induce economic recovery expected to strengthen the foundation of sustainable development through strategic investments in sustainable energy.

The panelists agreed renewable energy investments at scale will support sustained economic growth, including by strengthening local value chains and supporting local jobs.

They advocated for policy changes to support investments in sustainable and renewable energy sources to enable structural shifts towards low-carbon and more resilient power systems.

William Lugemwa, director of the Private Sector Development and Finance Division at the ECA, said post-coronavirus Africa's private sector would be crucial in leading the much-needed but ambitious energy transition. Renewable energy, he said, is crucial for Africa's recovery from the pandemic.

"We at ECA are committed as ever before to pursue all forms of development cooperation to advance the urgent need of the continent to recover from the rampage of COVID-19 and in providing the necessary policy and technical support to African policymakers in building back and building back better," Lugemwa said.

Mateo Di Castelnuovo, director of the Africa Lab at SDA Bocconi, said: "Evidence shows that renewables are the best for energy supply in health centers, agriculture and education in Africa. A resilient energy system and clean energy transition are fundamental for each country and their recovery path."