Skip to content

Workshop

Energy Poverty, Resource Efficiency & Climate Mitigation

EUI Climate Workshop

Add to calendar 2022-01-26 15:00 2022-01-26 16:30 Europe/Rome Energy Poverty, Resource Efficiency & Climate Mitigation Zoom YYYY-MM-DD
Print

When

26 January 2022

15:00 - 16:30 CET

Where

Zoom

This workshop hosts presentations by Policy Leader Fellows Samuel Weniga Anuga, Nduta Njenga and Manjusha Mukherjee.

Why does an African interpretation of energy poverty matter?

Samuel Weniga Anuga (Policy Leader Fellow, EUI School of Transnational Governance) and Nduta Njenga (Policy Leader Fellow, EUI School of Transnational Governance)

 

Nearly 1 billion people across the globe do not have access to modern energy (electricity) in their homes, and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) accounts for 75% of this number. In SSA, there is an urgent need to deal conclusively with issues of energy poverty which have significant implications on the political, social, and economic landscape. When compared with energy-rich countries, it is observable that SSA countries with underperforming energy sectors are unable to adequately power their economies toward attaining middle-class ambitions and long-term development. With these economic limitations, SSA countries are further constrained in their ability to build resilience towards health and environmental challenges. The discussion contextualises energy poverty and its nuance in SSA and highlights the impact of energy poverty on development. 

 

We conclude that global environmental change, poor infrastructure and challenges in governance and leadership in the form of dictatorships, political unrest and corruption hinder progress toward alleviating energy poverty in Africa. We recommend that as the African Union (AU) is preparing a new climate strategy under the AU’s Agenda 2063: the Africa we want , energy transitions and actions to eradicate energy poverty appear prominently in this climate strategy. Also, the European Union (EU) under the Green Deal offers a new form of partnership with the AU on green transitions; the EU should support Africa’s energy transformation by setting up organizations, research centres and energy labs to smoothen the processes of energy development in the African continent.

 

Resource efficiency & climate mitigation in the EU and takeaways for India

Manjusha Mukherjee (Policy Leader Fellow, EUI School of Transnational Governance)

 

While poverty eradication and improved access to basic services including health are national priorities, integrating sustainability and mitigation measures across sectors remains a challenge in India’s journey to achieve SDGs as well as the NDCs to the Paris Agreement of UNFCCC. Despite having numerous national missions and policies, India lacks a holistic and climate inclusive regulatory approach for resource efficiency. On the other hand, European Union has come up with a roadmap to resource efficient Europe in 2011 and taking one step forward adopted a Circular Economy Action Plan in 2015. Integrating circular efficiency policies into national priorities addresses sustainable production and consumption, optimisation of resource utilisation, sustainable design, factor in social costs, and help achieving emission reduction targets. The talk will analyse the best resource efficiency policies and practices in the EU countries in this perspective and identify the priority areas in Indian context. 

Moderation:

  • Professor Jos Delbeke, EIB Climate Chair

Speakers:

  • Samuel Weniga Anuga
  • Manjusha Mukherjee
  • Nduta Njenga
Go back to top of the page