At present the world is under existential threat due to climate change. Even though its contribution is very low Africa is rather more vulnerable and victim of the climate crisis. Paradoxically, the global threat also opens up new opportunities for the continent to reap the fair share of benefits that it deserves from the process of the prevention efforts.
One of the factors aggravating climate change and environmental degradation is the pursuit of energy. Energy is a universal and indispensable commodity that humans have to use in their routine activities. Ever since humans existed on earth, energy has been a common thing that they have been using.
Energy is an all-round factor in the life of humans. It is used in every aspect of life. The developed world has secured a reliable and affordable source of clean energy for everyday use as well as for commercial and large-scale development purposes.
Especially in economically growing parts of the world most of the energy is required for cooking food, and lighting homes. As society grows, the use of energy and the type should also change. However, developing countries are still stuck in the use of traditional sources of energy like fuel wood, biomass or cow dung, and fossil fuel, among others.
In Africa majority of the fuel for cooking, and lighting (household purposes) is obtained from forests, biomass, and in some cases fossil fuel. The extensive use of these fuels has many impacts on the lives of the people as well as the environment.
The clearing of forests causes destruction of the environment that in turn causes disruption of rainfall and impact on agriculture. The use of biomass and fossil fuels like kerosene also increases the emission of greenhouse gasses to the environment. Therefore, Africa has to streamline the endeavour to generate more clean energy from its rich potential. Among the continent’s rich natural resources is the presence of rivers suitable for hydroelectric power generation.
Though Africa is endowed with the potential to generate hydroelectric power from its rivers So far, it has utilized only some of its rivers and the overall electricity produced is very small even to serve the people highly in need of energy.
Generating hydroelectric power requires a lot of effort and expense. However, Africa is a developing continent with difficulty in affording the ultra-high sum of money as well as the technology required for the development of the dams.
Yet African countries should not be bound by the debilitating thinking that it is impossible to harness their natural resources and commit all their political and economic resources to the realization of their dreams of becoming self-reliant.
Africa should do away with the thinking that it has always had to wait for foreigners to assist in financial and technical terms in the development of its natural resources. It has to take the initiative to be the planner, contractor and financier of its own development potential just as witnessed by the construction of the GERD.
What makes the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is that it is fully owned by the rightful owners of the resource, the people of Ethiopia. It is a mega project whose construction was initiated, and budgeted by the people and government of Ethiopia. This means the revenue obtained from the dam will entirely be used for the development of the country rather than being channelled to external creditors or other stakeholders.
Unlike the reality in other places, the construction of the dam leaves various lessons for the future development path of the continent. In addition to supplying adequate electric power to the people who need it, it also supports local economic development through the large amount of revenue it generates. Furthermore, it serves as a benchmark on how to plan and execute local resources for the benefit of the local people.
Located along Ethiopia’s border with Sudan GERD occupies a vast land mass that stretches more than 275 kms. The water volume, 74 billion CM is believed to be twice that of Lake Tana, the largest Lake in the country.
More than all other things, the hydropower dam does a lot of favour in terms of its environmental impact. Of course, it is likely to have some impacts on the environment. Yet the project has already implemented the environmental impact assessment and rehabilitation works on it. In addition, it is an energy source that is free from emissions and ideal for the continent.
What is more important is that the dam can stimulate the transition to safe and clean energy use in the country as well as nearby neighbouring countries.
Since the dam can supply electric power to the public at an affordable price, it can encourage the use of clean energy instead of the carbon-emitting fuel wood, fossil fuels and biomass. The supply of electricity from such domestic resources is sustainable and affordable as it is already generated at home and sold in local currency. Furthermore, the revenue collected from the energy supply is pure domestic revenue for the government that can be deployed to further development endeavours.
In this way, Ethiopia and other African countries can contribute to the reduction of the emission of carbon to the atmosphere which is a global agenda of decarbonization. Therefore, the countries should follow the steps that Ethiopia passed through to utilize their river basins to generate more electric power and raise their role in the global efforts of smooth energy transition.
The transition to clean energy is a must and vital global topic, to rescue the world from the looming climate crisis that is threatening human existence.
Africa is at the crossroads of the global agenda of energy transition. The energy transition is a global shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources, aiming to reduce CO2 emissions and combat climate change.
The successful transition of energy, in other words, the decarbonization agenda, is almost impossible without Africa’s effective participation.
Various sources indicate that Africa accounts for about 30 % of the global critical mineral reserves that are essential in energy transition. Among the major critical minerals available in Africa are uranium, cobalt, zinc, lithium …etc.
It has become crystal clear from time to time that the world has gazed all its attention towards extracting Africa’s rich potential for critical minerals that are vital input in the global efforts of energy transition. This being a good opportunity, Africa should wisely use it by clearly alienating the associated drawbacks.
Most of all the continent should raise its bargaining power to develop its resources and maintain its decision-making power. Just as Ethiopia has full control and decision-making power over the GERD, the continent should adopt the same strategy to finance and control its utilization of the development of its critical minerals.
BY ZEKARIAS WOLDEMARIAM
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD WEDNESDAY 2 APRIL 2025
