EU announces €150 billion investment programme for Africa's renewable energy transition: Video
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has announced that Europe’s Global Gateway Initiative has earmarked a €150 billion investment programme to accelerate Africa’s shift to renewable energy.
Speaking at the Global Scaling Up Renewables in Africa event held on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders' Summit in Johannesburg on Saturday, November 22, Von der Leyen said the initiative has already secured €15.5 billion in pledges from governments and private sector partners.
“We reached 15.5 billion euros in pledges for investment in renewables in Africa, a big success,” she said, thanking contributors to the fundraising effort.
Von der Leyen stressed the urgent need to correct the global imbalance in clean energy investment. “Of the two trillion invested globally in clean energy last year, only two percent was in Africa,” she noted. “Yet Africa has 600 million people without access to electricity and holds 60 percent of the world’s best solar potential. So this cannot be. We must change this imbalance.”
The Global Gateway programme, developed in partnership with Global Citizen and supported by the International Energy Agency, aims to mobilise public and private capital to expand renewable energy projects, improve electricity access, and support climate-resilient, low-carbon industrial development across the continent.
EU officials say the initiative seeks not only to tackle urgent energy gaps but also to help accelerate the global transition away from fossil fuels.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
