Climate change and the renewable energy transition in Africa - Can Ghana learn from Kenya?
Climate change is a global topic that is being discussed in virtually all levels of academia.
The phenomenon has been dissected thoroughly in several debates internationally, and many of the concepts and aspects of climate change are now familiar to academics and international bodies.
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The challenge posed by climate change is largely anthropogenic as described by some scholars.
They explained that more than 90 per cent of the factors that influenced climate change were human-induced and it was safe to propose that a good control over the activities of man could lead to a reduction in the effects of climate change.
In the European Commission’s (n.d) web page report on climate change, the commission informs that leading climate scientists believe carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions—which before the era of the industrial revolution were in rather sustainable natural concentrations—have significantly increased owing to the burning of fossil fuels to operate industries and the mass cutting down of trees which deplete the storehouse for CO2 in the atmosphere.
These activities have over the years been addressed through education, and in search of restoration strategies of the climate change cycle, the global community birthed a transition to clean renewable energy sources from the major practice of burning fossil fuels to produce energy.
This has been a well-pursued movement with some countries performing better than others presumably because of a variety of factors surrounding their renewable energy transition.
Though it may be easy to assume that the issue of funding for individual countries is an all-powerful determinant of success in renewable energy transition, it will be a rather limiting notion as other factors such as policy regimes and even simple attitude and commitment held towards the campaign to address climate change may also prove to be relevant in our discussion.
Differences between Ghana and Kenya
In accordance with the perspective of this piece concerning possible differences in the factors surrounding the adoption of renewable energy, many African countries are experiencing relatively similar economic trajectories, though some with more promise than others.
It will not be wrong to place the financial capacity of a country to transition to renewable energy in the rear, while we focus on how the renewable energy transition is actually done by a country much like Ghana since funding cannot be the excuse to disrupt the sustainability of the environment.
Ghana’s focus on renewable energy, with emphasis on solar, is quite impressive. A fellow African country, Kenya, is touted as doing relatively better by the World Bank Report (2017). Specifically, of the 20 high-impact countries for electrification, Kenya, Malawi, Sudan and Uganda were recognised as having a rapid progress in renewable energy development.
It is, therefore, important to find out what Kenya is doing right and what lessons there are for Ghana to learn relative to solar energy. That will progressively form a knowledge basis for the implementation of revised policies for existing renewable energy plans relative to solar in Ghana.
Ghana's renewable energy initiatives
Ghana, like Kenya, has passed its Renewable Act, formulated its renewable master plan and initiated a number of solar energy initiatives.
Even though Kenya has a similar background, it has moved on rapidly and been touted as a success by the World Bank. Could this be a fluke or it has a basis that accounts for the success they have chalked up. It is important for Ghana to appreciate the nuance involved in the implementation of solar energy programmes as a renewable option.
The pathway drawn by the strategies of the Kenyans will demystify and encourage Ghanaian policy makers to put into practice their ideas for transition to renewable energy. This will also be a study that resounds the capability of Ghana as a nation to commit to the renewable energy transition having a praiseworthy standard in sight.
Through the activities of Kenyan stakeholders responsible for their success in solar renewable energy, the study will help appreciate other relevant roles that can be played by stakeholders in facilitating the successful implementation of the general renewable action plan. It is also crucial to unearth the different roles that can be played by particularly what can be done to reduce the cost of solar energy accessories and their installation.
More than 10 million young African men and women are expected to enter the labour market each year over the coming years. Most analysts tend to agree that the traditional public sector will not be able to absorb this new workforce. Entrepreneurship and self-employment are indispensable to creating quality jobs in large numbers, and the energy transition can play a central role in this regard.
For that to happen, skills development and upgrading, entrepreneurship promotion and enabling policy and governance frameworks are required.
The writer is MP for Nsawam-Adoagyiri and Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament.
