Go slow on energy transition, minister tells global leaders
Mr Okaasai says there is need to provide Africa with resources and an opportunity to sustainably exploit its oil and gas resources. Photo| File
What you need to know:
- According to the Energy state Minister, Africa needs special treatment through the provision of financing, technology and capacity building aimed at sustainable exploitation of its energy resources.
The need for energy transition must be contextualised to sync with the reality and the needs of the African continent, according to Energy State Minister Sidronius Okaasai Opolot.
Speaking during a panel discussion at the Cera Week 2022 in Houston, Texas, US recently, Mr Okaasai said there is need to provide Africa with an opportunity to sustainably exploit its oil and gas resources through financing.
“We think that Africa needs special treatment through the provision of financing, technology and capacity building aimed at sustainable exploitation of its energy resources including fossil fuels, while striving to minimise emissions,” he said, noting that Uganda is a clean energy country, and is making efforts to deliver electricity, which is one of the clean energy sources to rural areas.
Mr Okaasai also appealed to investors to bring in technology that can be used to effectively develop the abundant renewable energies in Uganda, including oil and gas, solar energy, hydroelectric power, geothermal energy, and hydrogen, among others
“Uganda is a clean energy country, and is making efforts to deliver electricity, which is one of the clean energy sources to rural areas,” he said, adding: “the country is endowed with enormous natural resources such as hydro, geothermal, petroleum resources, wind, and solar energy, among others, yet only a small fraction of this potential has been developed.”
Mr Demetrios Papathanasiou, the Global Director of the World Bank energy and extractives global practice, who was in the same discussion panel, expressed readiness of the World Bank to offer funding for energy projects in Uganda.
The Cera Week is an annual meeting of the world energy industry leaders which plays a very important role in shaping the global energy agenda.
Uganda’s delegation to the Cera Week, which was led by Mr Okaasai included representation from the Petroleum Authority of Uganda and Uganda National Oil Company.
Key outcomes of Cera included need for continued and accelerated exploration and production of oil and gas resources to guarantee energy security, especially since the world is currently experiencing shortage of energy, the need to develop technologies to capture and store carbon arising from some energy sources, especially fossil fuels and the need to gradually transition into renewable energy such as hydrogen, solar and nuclear energy, among others.
At the same meeting, Mr Patrick Pouyanne, the TotalEnergies chairman, confirmed availability of funding for its oil and gas projects in Uganda, which has now been boosted by the signing of the final investment decision in February.
The Cera Week was attended by more than 6000 delegates, including top government officials and industry players worldwide.
