Continental body, the African Union Commission (AUC), and intergovernmental agency, the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena), have agreed to work closely to advance renewable energy across the continent to bolster Africa’s response to Covid-19.

The two organisations will focus on innovative solutions to drive the development of renewable energy including decentralised systems, and to increase access to energy across the continent.

The cooperation aims to bolster Africa’s response to the pandemic by, besides others, improving the ability of rural health centres and communities to deal with the health challenge using renewable energy to power critical services such as medical equipment and water pumping for improving hygiene.

Africa is home to more than two-thirds of the world’s least-developed countries and 600-million people currently live without access to modern energy services.

Paradoxically, Africa possesses vast renewable energy potential that could cover nearly a quarter of its energy needs through indigenous renewable energy by 2030.

The deployment of renewables-based solutions is, therefore, central to the achievement of universal access and a key enabler for the attainment of the aspirations of the AU Agenda 2063 as well as achievement of the United Nations Agenda 2030 on Sustainable Development. The two organisations will collaborate to make this possible.

During a virtual discussion, Dr Amani Abou-Zeid, AUC Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy and Francesco La Camera, director-general of Irena agreed that a concerted and coordinated response was essential to address the energy-related response to Covid-19 and noted that renewable energy offered the most plausible and sustainable response, which woould continue to uplift the quality of life for millions of Africans long after the pandemic.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has shown that energy is critical for all spheres of life and is now proving to be a matter of survival. The AUC has made major strides to advance energy development in Africa through various programmes and partnerships. It is now even more urgent to fast-track energy access efforts on the continent,” said Abou-Zeid.

“It is time to use Africa’s enormous renewable energy resources for the benefit of the African people in response to the coronavirus pandemic,” she added.

She called upon Irena and the AUC to work together to mobilise international support, including the private sector, to provide electricity to health facilities and associated services for fighting the pandemic in Africa, especially the rural and peri-urban areas.

“It is critical that the vulnerable in society, especially women and girls, are specifically targeted in these efforts,” she added.

“Renewable energy can cost-effectively supply the critical power needed in Africa’s rural communities to supply health centres, facilitate the provision of clean water, support agriculture and facilitate other productive sectors.  Such measures are critical to the continent’s ability to deal with the pandemic,” La Camera said.

“Our response to this crisis must also promote long-term sustainable development and support for the achievement of nationally determined contributions. The deployment of renewables is therefore a foresighted strategy to ensure a resilient future, in which no one is left behind,” he added.

The collaboration between the AU and Irena complements ongoing AU programmes.

The AU and Irena will also collaborate in the context of Irena’s Clean Energy Corridors initiatives in East, West and Southern Africa focused on advancing the deployment of renewables through the creation of larger and more robust power markets encouraging cross-border trade of renewable power.

These commitments build on existing cooperation between the AU and Irena to strengthen the enabling environment for low-carbon, climate-resilient renewable energy investment as the continent seeks to raise its renewable energy ambition.