President opens maiden Africa Energy Technology confab in Accra

The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has called on African leaders to harness innovation, foster collaboration, and drive policy initiatives that place Africa at the helm of energy technology and sustainability.

In a speech read on his behalf by Dr Kwaku Afriyie, Presidential Envoy on Climate Change, at the opening of the maiden Africa Energy Technology Conference (AETC) held in Accra yesterday, the President said that he would ensure socio-economic development across the nation.

• Dr Afriyie (in smock) with Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh (fifth from right) and
other dignitaries after the event Photo: Godwin Ofosu-Acheampong

The two- day conference, organised by AETC in collaboration with the Ministry of Energy, was on the theme “Africa at the Forefront of Energy Technology and Policy Integration in a Just Energy Transition”.

The conference, which aimed at fostering collaboration, knowledge-sharing and innovation in the field of energy technology within the African continent, brought together industry players, policy makers, researchers and innovators across Africa.

President Akufo-Addo said Ghana stands firmly in its commitment to the cause, and in pursuit of that, the launch of the Energy Transition Framework at COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, in 2022, and the $550 billion Energy Transition Investment Plan at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, last September, was a testament to the country’s dedication to fostering green industries, championing cutting-edge low-carbon technologies, and propelling the nation towards a sustainable industrial revolution.

“Ghana’s Energy Transition framework outlines our blueprint that navigates through sectors such as oil and gas, transportation, agriculture, and power, paving the way for a transition that is ambitious yet achievable.

It is important to state that we understand the weight of this endeavour – a colossal investment, representing a significant percentage of our annual GDP. Yet, the cost of inaction is far greater. Our commitment today mitigates the potential costs of tomorrow – of combating the effects of pollution and climate change,” he added.

President Akufo-Addo urged that the conference should not just be a momentary gathering, but a catalyst for sustained change to forge alliances, exchange ideas, and foster a spirit of innovation that goes beyond differences.

He, thus, expressed Ghana’s commitment to contributing its quota in the energy transition and called for more collaborative effort to safeguard Africa’s energy security.

The Energy Minister, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, said the global energy transition presents Africa and the entire globe with an opportunity to improve on existing policies and initiatives to foster the development of all sectors of economies through the provision of affordable and reliable energy while improving on the quality of air breathed.

“Our respective energy transition plans must, therefore, take into perspective all the sectors of our economies with deliberate efforts channelled at achieving decarbonisation, energy security, access and efficiency to accelerate industrialisation and yet lower carbon dioxide emissions and energy demand,” he said.

Dr Opoku-Prempeh said though, globally, the energy transition was challenged in several ways, there was the need to deal with it through policy and regulatory reforms, fiscal market development and incentives to achieve sustainable consumption and production of energy at national, subregional and continental levels.

He expressed optimism that with the energy transition framework in place, government’s industrialisation agenda, the recent discovery of critical metals and the citing of AfCTA Headquarters in Ghana, “we are in a unique position to serve as the spring board and gateway for green manufacturing into the Continent.”

FROM VIVIAN ARTHUR