56 DEVELOPMENT
INCLUSIVE ENERGY COLLABORATIOAN : DELIVERING ON THE G20 ENERGY PRINCIPLES
Akinwumi A . Adesina President of the African Development Bank ’ s speech at the G20 Energy Ministers Meeting on “ Inclusive Energy Collaboration : Delivering on the G20 Energy Principles October 2 , 2015 Istanbul , Turkey
Your Excellency , President Recep Tayyip Erdogan , President of the Republic of Turkey . Honourable Ministers , Distinguished Guests , Ladies and Gentlemen . Good morning !
I want to thank President Erdogan for his strong commitment in addressing the major development challenges facing Africa today . Since becoming Prime Minister in 2003 and now under his Presidency , Turkey ’ s foreign direct investment in Africa has increased by more than 20 times . Turkey has opened new embassies in African countries , deepening its footprint on the continent . Turkish bilateral trade with Africa is up tenfold since the turn of the century .
Turkey ’ s Presidency of the G20 provides another unique opportunity to support the actualization of sustainable and inclusive development for Africa . I want to thank Turkey for its vision and leadership in having chosen energy access in Sub-Saharan Africa as a focus theme for the G20 . The G20 Action Plan will further boost efforts to ensure affordable , reliable , and sustainable access to power in Africa .
I arrived here yesterday evening from the UN General Assembly meetings in New York , where the global community approved the Sustainable Development Goals . It is the dawn of a new era for the world : one where , more than ever before , we must reach out across the global commons to solve problems and unlock opportunities . Our world will be a better place , if we achieve the Sustainable Development Goals . And nowhere is the urgency of the need to achieve the goals more than in Africa . Africa cannot sustain poverty . The over 400 million Africans living in poverty must see a new dawn of change . They must be lifted out of poverty .
The African Development Bank is ready , willing , and eager to serve as the institution of choice for helping to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa . The African Development Bank will provide support to African countries to reach or even exceed the targets set out in the SDGs . We will mobilize the financing and the knowledge resources to turn the SDGs from vision to reality .
While each of the 17 goals is important for improving the lives of people around the world ,
none is more important for Africa than SDG 7 : Energy . Today , over 600 million Africans do not have access to electricity . Energy is the engine that powers economies . Without it , Africa cannot industrialize . Our factories lie idle for lack of power . The private sector is crippled , without the ability to operate effectively or competitively . Production remains stunted .
Without power , the problem of massive unemployment in Africa will not be solved . Africa ’ s youth should not be migrating , at great risks , to Europe . But without power , we cannot create jobs and opportunities for them at home .
Africa today has 11 terawatts potential of solar energy . It has 320 gigawatts potential of hydro energy . It has 110 gigawatts potential of wind energy . And it has 15 gigawatts potential of geothermal energy . Africa cannot stand by with such massive energy resources and yet be known for the darkness , not the brightness , of its cities and rural areas .
The continent may be blessed with almost limitless potential for solar , wind , hydropower and geothermal energy 4 resources , but potential does not power our small businesses and our industries . Potential does not light our schools and homes . Potential cannot save the 600,000 people – mainly women and children – who die every year from pollution because they don ’ t have access to clean cooking energy .
We must unlock Africa ’ s energy potential – both conventional and renewable . Our bright sunshine should not only nourish our crops , it must power our homes . Our vast water resources should do more than provide us much needed drinking water : they must power our industries .
This is why the African Development Bank led the development and financing of the Lake Turkana Wind Power project , the largest wind farm in Sub-Saharan Africa that will provide 300 megawatts of clean power to Kenya ’ s national electricity grid . This is an excellent example of how we can unlock the renewable energy potential in Africa . We need more projects like this , and the African Development Bank is uniquely positioned to identify , package and finance them .
There is no doubt that Africa has an opportunity to lead a renewable energy revolution by effectively harnessing the resources at our fingertips . But as we work towards this revolution , we must also be practical , responsibly harnessing conventional energy resources like natural gas and coal to meet the vast energy needs of our continent . It is critical that we reach the right energy mix for Africa , so that we can fuel industrialization that is so desperately needed .
We must take bold steps , think differently and act with a greater sense of urgency . In majority of African countries , over 90 % of the primary schools do not have electricity . I read recently of the determination of young primary school kids in the town of Bo , in Sierra Leone , who queue up for hours , around one lightbulb of a generous neighbour , to do their homework throughout the night . In other countries , the streetlights have become the congregation point of children , not to play , but to learn .
Yet in the USA , young African kids such as Saheela Ibraheem got admitted to Harvard University at the age of 15 , entering the list of the “ World ’ s Smartest Teenagers ”. Young high school student Kwasi Enin , the son of a Ghanaian immigrant to the US , set a record for being granted admission to all the eight Ivy League universities in the US . Thedifference between them and those kids in the town of Bo , is all about opportunities to learn .
We must make access to electricity a democratic human right . We must rise up and do all it takes to ensure that all primary and secondary schools in Africa have access to electricity . The African Development Bank stands ready to work with the G20 and other partners to make this happen , to unlock learning opportunities , raise achievement in schools , reduce school dropout rates and securing a brighter future for Africa