AFRIKA-INVESTITIONEN FÜR SAUBERE ENERGIE SEHEN KEINE WIEDERHOLUNG NACH DER PANDEMIE

(WK-intern) – Das neue Kapital, das für Wind-, Solar-, Geothermie- und andere erneuerbare Energieprojekte in Afrika eingesetzt wird, rutscht auf ein 11-Jahres-Tief, findet BloombergNEF

Sharm el-Sheikh – Während sich Staats- und Regierungschefs in Ägypten zur jüngsten Runde der UN-Klimagespräche versammeln, wobei die Energiewende und die wirtschaftliche Entwicklung ganz oben auf der Tagesordnung stehen, stellt eine neue Studie von BloombergNEF (BNEF) fest, dass Investitionen in erneuerbare Energien in Afrika getätigt werden weit hinter dem Rest der Welt zurück.

Trotz der herausragenden natürlichen Ressourcen Afrikas, des schnell wachsenden Strombedarfs und der sich verbessernden politischen Rahmenbedingungen wurden im Jahr 2021 nur 2,6 Milliarden US-Dollar an Kapital für neue Wind-, Solar-, Geothermie- oder andere erneuerbare Energieerzeugungsprojekte eingesetzt, das niedrigste seit 11 Jahren. Auf den Kontinent entfielen nur 0,6 % der 434 Milliarden US-Dollar, die weltweit in erneuerbare Energien investiert wurden.

Die schlechten Ergebnisse können nicht auf anhaltende Auswirkungen der Covid-19-Pandemie zurückgeführt werden. Während die Investitionen in erneuerbare Energien von 2020 bis 2021 weltweit um 9 % anstiegen und ein Allzeithoch erreichten, gingen die Investitionen in erneuerbare Energien in Afrika im Jahresvergleich um 35 % zurück.

„Der weltweite Übergang von fossilen Brennstoffen zu sauberer Energie hat das Potenzial, Wirtschaft und Gesundheit in ganz Afrika zu fördern“, sagte Michael R. Bloomberg, Sonderbeauftragter des UN-Generalsekretärs für Klimaambitionen und -lösungen und Gründer von Bloomberg LP und Bloomberg Philanthropies. „Aber wie dieser neue Bericht detailliert ausführt, befinden sich die Investitionen in saubere Energie in Afrika auf einem alarmierend niedrigen Niveau. Um dies zu ändern, sind neue Ebenen der Zusammenarbeit erforderlich, um realisierbare Projekte für saubere Energie zu identifizieren und ihnen mehr private Finanzierung und öffentliche Unterstützung zu verschaffen – damit wir Afrikas Potenzial als globaler Vorreiter für saubere Energie in die Realität umsetzen können.“

New capital deployed for wind, solar, geothermal and other renewable power projects in Africa slips to an 11-year low, finds BloombergNEF

Read the full report here

Sharm el-Sheikh – As leaders gather in Egypt for the latest round of UN climate talks with the energy transition and economic development very much on the agenda, new research from BloombergNEF (BNEF) finds that renewable energy investment in Africa trails far behind the rest of the world. Despite Africa’s outstanding natural resources, rapidly growing electricity demand and improving policy frameworks, only $2.6 billion of capital was deployed for new wind, solar, geothermal or other renewable power-generating projects in 2021, the lowest in 11 years. The continent accounted for just 0.6% of the $434 billion invested in renewables worldwide.

The poor results cannot be blamed on any lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. While renewables investment globally rose 9% from 2020 to 2021 to reach an all-time high, renewables investment in Africa slipped 35% year-on-year.

“The global transition from fossil fuels to clean energy has the potential to benefit economies and health across Africa,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions and Founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies. “But as this new report details, clean energy investment in Africa is at an alarming low level. Changing that requires new levels of collaboration to identify viable clean energy projects and bring more private financing and public support to them – so we can turn Africa’s potential as a global clean energy leader into reality.”

Figure 1 – Global renewable energy asset investment, Africa renewable energy asset investment.PNG

The new BloombergNEF report examines the opportunities and challenges for clean energy deployment in Africa. Available on the Bloomberg NetZero Pathfinders platform – a public resource supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies that provides concrete, actionable policy ideas for achieving a decarbonized economy – the study found that clean energy investment in Africa is highly concentrated in a handful of markets. South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, and Kenya have accounted for nearly three-quarters of all renewable energy asset investment since 2010 with a total of $46 billion. All others have secured just $16 billion over that time.

Africa lags far behind the rest of the world in achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 7 of having clean, affordable energy for all its citizens. Among all those lacking access to electricity globally, 77% or 564 million reside in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the World Bank. Renewable technologies are cost-competitive today in most parts of the world, but particularly in Africa due to the continent’s wealth of natural resources. These resources have the potential to be transformative in expanding power-generating capacity and access to electricity on the continent. Nevertheless, 75% of Africa’s power needs are met today by coal- and natural gas-fired generation. Wind and solar accounted for just 5% of generation in 2021.

In addition, countries in the region have made noteworthy strides to improve their policy regimes with an eye toward attracting funding for clean energy projects. Among the 42 African nations BNEF surveyed for its study, 86% now have long-term clean power targets in force, up from 57% in 2019. Net metering policies, which allow owners of distributed solar systems to be compensated for excess generation they feed back into the grid, are in place in 29% of African nations.

However, countries have done far less to implement concrete programs to ensure that they meet their long-term clean energy targets. While half the nations that BNEF surveyed have policies in place to hold reverse auctions for clean power delivery contracts, far fewer have held tenders. Even fewer have successfully brought projects online under such auctions.

“The ingredients are there for Africa to be a major market for clean energy growth, including outstanding natural resources and massive demand,” said Luiza Demôro, head of energy transition research at BNEF. “But incomplete policy regimes and reluctant investors continue to keep investment levels below where they could and really should be.”

NetZero Pathfinders is a public resource for policy makers that simplifies the search for climate solutions. It provides real-world guidance to help governments strengthen their climate strategies and move faster into the future. Further information can be found at https://www.bloomberg.com/netzeropathfinders/. To find out more specifically about NetZero Pathfinders Africa please click here.

The complete Scaling-Up Renewable Energy in Africa – A NetZero Pathfinders report can be found here.

PR: BloombergNEF

PB: Afrika hat trotz Pandemie kein Geld mehr für den Ausbau Erneuerbarer Energien / ©: BloombergNEF