Tunisia meets around 97 per cent of its electricity needs from gas and oil. In 2015 the state paid energy subsidies of more than 150 billion euros, resulting in a considerable burden on the budget. At the same time, given the steadily falling prices of photovoltaic (PV) systems, there is now an environmentally friendly and economical alternative for generating electricity.

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time. Dramatic changes in climate conditions and weather extremes are already affecting millions of people around the world, damaging crops and coastlines and putting food, water and energy security at risk. Climate change threatens to reverse progress towards sustainable development.

The Clean Energy for Development aims to increase access to renewable energy in developing countries. The initiative has provided lasting results for millions of people since it was started in 2007.

Both the Sustainable Development Goals and climate agreement in Paris states that the global community must continue to supporting sustainable energy development.

Renewable energy enables economic growth and protects the environment. Sustainable, affordable and reliable energy supplies are also prerequisites for abolishing extreme poverty.

To help rural communities in Ghana and Zambia gain access to electricity, Denmark funded two projects on renewable energy technology transfer (RETT) with Ghana and Zambia, with a strong focus on enabling coherent South-South cooperation between China and African countries to promote the UN’s Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) initiative. The projects aim to adapt Chinese experience and technical skills to promote the production of renewable energy technologies in Africa. 

Power generation capacity in Kenya was 1,593 MW, in which 48% of the power was generated using hydropower as of June 2011. However, while the peak power demand in March 2011 was 1,294 MW and in January 2012 was 1,211.9 MW, the actual power supply was 1,194 MW, owing to a shortage of water. According to the “Least Cost Power Development Plan (LCPDP),” which is an electricity development plan of the Republic of Kenya, the peak power demand in Kenya is estimated to increase up to 12,738–22,985 MW in 2030.

In 2015, the United Nations member states defined the seventh Sustainable Development Goal as: “Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all”. Subsequently, the Government of Mozambique, the British Government and various international partners signed the Energy Africa Mozambique Compact.

Description

Access to sustainable energy is a key enabler for economic growth, health, education, and helps provide opportunities to all generations and populations. Sustainable energy lies at the heart of both the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Paris Agreement on Climate Change, as well as other policy programmes and initiatives. The 2030 Agenda’s Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) sets out to ensure “access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all”.

The programme will catalyse a market based approach for private sector delivery of solar home system (SHS) products and services. This will lead to improved energy access for people in sub-Saharan Africa currently who are currently without modern energy. The programme will work in 14 priorty countries: Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leonne and Senegal.

The Africa Clean Energy Corridor (ACEC) is a regional initiative that seeks to secure the accelerated development of renewable energy potential and cross-border trade of renewable power within the Eastern Africa Power Pool (EAPP) and Southern African Power Pool (SAPP). The initiative builds upon the strong political commitment of African leaders to strengthen regional institutions and transmission infrastructure, forming large competitive markets and lowering costs across production sectors.