By Shumirai Chimombe
President Ramaphosa Attends Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW)
President Cyril Ramaphosa was in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) recently at the invitation of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, to attend the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ASDW). The ADSW, which took place from 11 to 15 January, brought together Heads of State and government decision-makers, business leaders, investors, innovators and civil society to exchange ideas and address the most pressing global sustainability challenges. The ADSW paved the way to igniting new opportunities for collaboration in sustainable development initiatives across interconnected systems, including energy, finance, food, water and nature.
President Ramaphosa’s programme included participating in a high level session titled: Next Leap: Global South Infrastructure, which focused on exploring opportunities for investment in sustainable and scalable infrastructure across the Global South, particularly in power and water. On the margins of the ADSW he held a bilateral meeting with the UAE President regarding strengthening bilateral relations and cooperation, especially trade and investment, between the two countries.
His Excellency was accompanied by the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Mr Ronald Lamola; Minister in The Presidency, Ms Khumbudzo Ntshavheni; Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Mr Parks Tau; and the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Ms Mmamoloko Kubayi.
An Engaging Fireside Chat on South Africa As a Leader in Sustainability
As part of the Heads of State panel on 13 January, H.E. Ramaphosa had a fireside chat at ADSW with Ms Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, President of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and executive managing director of the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund. With the topic ‘A vision for Global Energy’ their conversation covered a number of topical issues, including South Africa’s energy transition strategy, fostering partnerships and attracting investment through smart financing, energy generation and green hydrogen.
On Championing Energy Transition
Razan started off the discussion by indicating that as the G20 president, President Ramaphosa had championed the energy transition which is seen as an engine for opportunity, for hope, for economic development. She asked him to elaborate on the relationship between economic development and climate action.
He responded that quite often people see this as a trade off – that you either have to protect the planet or have economic growth. However the two have to be seen as mutually reinforcing, and in fact, countries that have embarked on climate action strategies have found that those interventions do finally yield economic growth.
“Therefore, one needs to see climate action as a driver and an enabler for economic growth. The more we embrace clean energy, the more new technologies come about. New opportunities open up and we find that there are new sub-sectors of the economy that are established, and where we might close certain sub-sectors new ones open. So the two go hand in hand. A dual approach focusing on both can actually drive the economy forward. That’s precisely what we have decided to do in South Africa.”
On Building Partnerships to Mobilise Funding
Razan highlighted that South Africa had advocated for a new model of international partnership that, in just one year, had succeeded in mobilising more than $1.5 billion in investment in renewable energy in Africa. She asked President Ramaphosa to expand on this approach.
H.E Ramaphosa: “In the face of having to take action on climate change we needed to lift our gaze beyond the horizon and ask ourselves, what do we do to address the damage to our climate and emissions? And by the way, one should start off by saying the African continent is least responsible for climate damage. And yet we are having to carry the burden of what other locales in the world have done for climate change. Notwithstanding that, we decided that we now need to put our best foot forward and find solutions. And the solution we came up with was to mobilise international funding.”
This move resulted in $1.5-billion being invested in South Africa. The President highlighted that the whole process was nationally designed and put forward to potential investors. This involved creating an innovative blended finance architecture as well as grants, and concessional funding. Consequently, South Africa has become a leader in this model of financing, with a number of countries in the Global South having followed suit.
The Northern Cape province, which has the best radiation area in the world according to His Excellency, attracted more than R110-billion in investments in renewable energy, thanks to this South African-designed model of enhancing cooperation with investors. “So this in our view has led to a very good end, but more than that, it sets out very good examples for other countries to follow. So we’re really pleased.”
On Energy Generation
As a final question Razan asked His Excellency to explain how he envisioned the continent’s role in shifting from being an energy importer to an energy and ideas powerhouse that integrates all of its assets including nature.
The President responded that Africa has great opportunity when it comes to energy generation. “We’ve got one of the greatest endowments in the world – the sun, the wind, and our mighty rivers. So, a combination of all three, as well as our minerals, gives rise to great opportunities where we can generate energy. 600 million people on the African continent still lack access to electricity. And that in itself, rather than being a challenge, we see it as an opportunity to utilise all these endowments. Instead of exporting rock, soil and stones, we should now benifeciate and add value to our minerals so that they are properly utilised in energy generation.”
In terms of green hydrogen, President Ramaphosa indicated that Africa is the center of green hydrogen potential. By harnessing its vast solar and wind resources, the continent is positioned to become a leading exporter of energy. And this presents significant investment opportunities for generating energy for infrastructure development.
“Infrastructure development in Africa is going to explode by leaps and bounds. And on the back of energy generation, and on the back of good financing and clever financing models, we will be able as a continent to see higher levels of growth.”
His Excellency concluded with an invitation to financiers and investors to come and invest in the African continent.
“That is where the future is.”
Sources: Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) | The Presidency of the Republic of South Africa (YouTube channel) | DIRCO
