Mozambique’s $80 billion energy transition strategy will leverage the country’s vast renewable resources to position the country as a sustainable investment destination and deliver energy to its people, President Filipe Nyusi said at the COP28 summit in Dubai.
Speaking on the third day of the COP28 UN climate conference, President Nyusi said Mozambique will still harness the potential of its offshore natural gas reserves in a diverse energy mix that will also exploit its abundant hydroelectric, wind and solar resources.
While transitioning to a decarbonised future, Mozambique must continue to grow and meet the needs of the half of its population that does not have access to electricity, he said.
“There are two realities that are a dilemma in the face of our ambitions: as a developing country, less than 53 per cent have access to energy.
Then, our country has reserves of 180 tcf (trillion cubic feet), with two structuring liquefied natural gas projects with the potential to generate resources,” Nyusi said at the high-level panel event.
“The strategy’s mission is to leverage Mozambique’s abundant renewable and natural resources to accelerate the trajectory of low-carbon socio-economic development,” he said.
Mozambique’s energy transition will require major investments in new technologies associated with electric vehicles, green hydrogen, digitalisation and training young people.
“We estimate that more than $80 billion in public and private investment is needed by 2050.
To fully realise this ambitious potential of the energy transition strategy, the opportunities for short-term investments to be financed amount to $3 billion next year alone,” said Mozambique’s Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Carlos Zacarias.
“We want partners, not just donors; the future is undoubtedly bright, but we must work together decisively.”
Dr Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank Group, lent his support to the ambitious programme and said even as the world moves to lessen its dependence on fossil fuels, Mozambique cannot ignore its natural gas potential.
“African countries, and in this case Mozambique, should use an energy mix of hydroelectric power and natural gas,” Dr Adesina said during the panel discussion.
“To those who say that natural gas creates a lot of problems, I reply that it doesn’t, really.
How can we justify having 600 million people without electricity? And having 900 million people without clean cooking in the 21st century? We need a balanced energy mix that allows access to energy, with energy security and stability,” he added.
Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, noted that Africa only accounts for 3% of the global greenhouse cause emissions that cause climate change.
Therefore, holding the continent back from developing its hydrocarbon reserves would be unjust.
“If you develop all the deposits, all of them, these emissions will rise from 3 to 3.4 per cent, which is nothing.
Africa must use clean energies, but natural gas is necessary for some applications and industrial sectors that need very hot temperatures for processes.
I say this so that my colleagues in Africa don’t feel guilty about using their gas resources,” he said.
Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, co-hosting the event as President of the Tony Blair Institute, agreed that Africa’s people must feel the benefit of the continent’s energy transition.
“The only way to solve the problem of climate change is to link clean energy and economic development. If clean energy doesn’t help people, it will never work,” he said.
Mozambique’s energy strategy is based on four pillars, Minister Zacarias said: expanding clean energy capacity through hydroelectric projects and solar and wind power plants to offset the share of fossil fuels in the energy matrix; capitalising on green industrialisation through integrated projects around industrial corridors such as the Nacala corridor; increasing programmes towards universal access to energy by 2030 through clean cooking solutions and solar mini-grids; promoting green transport, introducing electric vehicles, as well as increasing the use of gas-powered vehicles and promoting biofuels.
The COP is the single largest global platform for nations to negotiate an agreed way forward to tackle climate change.
The gathering also brings together major stakeholders engaged in climate change: governments, the private sector, youth and civil society.
The theme of this year’s conference is Unite, Act, Deliver.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com