JAPAN and the WORLD Magazine JANUARY ISSUE 2016 #Issue 14 | Page 56

DJIBOUTI
RENEWABLE ENERGY
持続的なアフリカに向けて
TOWARDS A
SUSTAINABLE AFRICA
JAPAN’S PLANS FOR GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
DEVELOPMENT FOR EAST AFRICA
日本が担う東アフリカの地熱エネルギー開発計画
Japan wants to play a leading role in the development of clean sources
of energy in Africa, namely using geothermal energy. Its Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe has reaffirmed his commitment to developing countries
at the UN Conference on Climate Change, COP 21, held in Paris last
December. He said “We will take geothermal energy from the center of
the Earth and deliver clean electricity to people in Africa.”
日本はアフリカでのクリーンエネルギー源の開発で中心的な役割を担いたい
と考えている。
すなわち地熱エネルギーのことだ。昨年12月にパリで開かれた
第21回国連気候変動枠組み条約締約国会議（COP21）
で安倍晋三首相は途上
国へのコミットメントを再確認し、
「地球の中心から地熱エネルギーを取り出
し、
アフリカの人々にクリーンな電気を供給する」
と述べた。
J
apan also proposed investment in
innovative technologies as a way to
act against climate change without
sacrificing economic growth. By
next Spring Japan will formulate
the “Energy and Environment Innovation
Strategy.” Prospective focused areas will be
identified and research and development on
them will be strengthened.
At Cop 21, Africa has pledged its support for
renewables by announcing the launch of the
African Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI).
The goal is to achieve universal access to
energy on the continent. Actually, there are
640 million people who don’t have access to
electricity, while 7 million have no access to
clean alternatives.
In regards to East African countries, the
impacts of climate change could be disastrous.
Agriculture accounts for an average of 40% of
the region’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
and provides livelihood and substantive
income to more than 80% of our citizens. One
solution could be the emergence of climate
smart agriculture. In Kenya and Ethiopia,
farmers are being provided with agro-weather
tools, which they use to determine the best
time to cultivate crops. Under this project,
farmers have seen their income increase as
much as 30 %. This illustrates how the use of
innovative technologies could help farmers to
better assure their livelihood.
57 // JANUARY 2016
JAPANESE PARLIAMENTARIANS IN THE REGION
Following the COP21, a group of Japanese
Parliamentarians led by Mr. Asahiko Mihara,
a member of the National Diet, conducted
a 5-days visit to East Africa, namely in five
countries: Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda
and Tanzania. The objective was to review
the development of geothermal energy plants
in the region in preparation of the next
Tokyo International Conference on African
Development (TICAD) to be held for the
first time in Africa. Prime Minister of Japan,
M. Shinzo Abe will announce details on his
master plan to develop and finance various
geothermal energy projects in the region. To
promote the private sector to invest in these
projects, there were Japanese companies
representatives
joining
the
Japanese
Parliamentarian’s visit of the region.
In fact, Japan is already active in the countries
visited by Japanese Parliamentarians. In Kenya,
for example, geothermal power now accounts
for 51 % of the nation’s installed power capacity.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency
(JICA) has been providing support to capacity
enhancement to the Kenya’s Geothermal
Development Company to train staff on drilling
techniques, reservoir evaluation and project
management. In Tanzania, there was a newly-
signed partnership on December 7th 2015
between Tanzania Geothermal Development
Company and Toshiba Corporation to bring
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