AFI Changemakers Summit on Energy & Environment: Diverse Perspectives, Challenges and Way Forward

Ariel Foundation International AFI Changemakers Summit on Energy and Environment: Diverse Perspectives, Challenges and Way Forward

ARIEL FOUNDATION INTERNATIONAL www.arielfoundation.org

ARIEL FOUNDATION INTERNATIONAL www.arielfoundation.org

AFI Ariel International Foundation Is in Special ECOSOC Status with the United Nations

Ariel Foundation International AFI Changemakers Summit on Energy and Environment: Diverse Perspectives, Challenges and Way Forward

Acknowledgments

AFI Changemakers ARIEL FOUNDATION Summit on Energy and Environment: INTERNATIONAL Diverse Perspectives, Challenges and Way Forward www.arielfoundation.org

Despite our different backgrounds and African origins, the Ariel Foundation International (www.arielfoundation.org) gave us the platform at the United Nations Human Rights Council to share our thoughts on the promotion and protection of different Human Right practices in Africa.

As passionate young African leaders, we believe matters raised in this report shall be a stepping-stone to guarantee a world free from injustice, stigmatization, and any kind of inequality.

Special thanks: Dr. Ariel Rosita King, President of Ariel Foundation International (AFI) for the love of African Youth and Children along with their subsequent well-being. Her support, encouragement, kindness and guidance have had a great impact and inspiration on our lives and towards this publication.

Ms. Amparo Marí Adsuara for the unwavering will to edit, compile and publish this alluring report.

Ariel Foundation International is a global leader for international humanitarian change. Further, to inspire leadership of youth and children, AFI through its Change makers programme (www.changemakers-un.org) has a Special ECOSOC Status with the United Nations in New York, Vienna and Geneva.

Copyright © 2021 by AFI | Ariel International Foundation All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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ISBN 978-1-7375204-3-6 Graphic Design www.adsuara.net

Index Acknowledgments Young Leaders

Abdul-Majid Issah Malori Abigail Oppong Amina Ali Anita Chebbi Chinenye Ajayi Daisy Muzira Jennifer Apprah-Kubi Jeremiah Thoronka Justice Ohene-Akoto Mugisa Aloysius Mary Prince Williams Jr. Shantal Kisimba Thaddeus Anim-Somuah Yewande Olatunde Yvette Neema

ARIEL FOUNDATION INTERNATIONAL www.arielfoundation.org

AFI Changemakers Summit on Energy and Environment: Diverse Perspectives, Challenges and Way Forward

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AFI Changemakers Summit on Energy and Environment: Diverse Perspectives, Challenges and Way Forward

Dr. Ariel Rosita King PhD, MPH, MBA, DTM&H AFI FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT (USA - FRANCE)

Dr. King was chosen to be on the Expert AIDS Prevention working Group with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (USA) and Human Science Research Council (South Africa).

Prof. Dr. Ariel R. King is the Founder, and President Ariel Consulting International, Inc. founded in 2000, a company that creates and enhances Public-Private Partnerships in international health, policy, and management with focus on developing countries. She also founded The Ariel Foundation International founded in 2002 as a non-profit organization with an international focus on children and youth in Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Community Service world-wide.

More recently, in 2008 Dr. King founded the Ariana-Leilani Children’s Foundation International to educate and advocate for Children’s Human Rights Worldwide.

Dr. Ariel King now as President of AFI, which has Economic, Cultural and Social Council (ECOSOC) status, has been a representative for various Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) at the United Nations in Geneva, the United Nations in Vienna (UNOV) and United Nations in New York. Dr. King’s life focus is on the worlds children and youth.

Dr. King has over 35 years of experience in international health, international public health policy and international management in government, business and NGOs. As a Professor in International Health, Management, Policy and Environment she has taught at Universities in the USA, Europe and Africa.

Dr. King has published on the topics of Kangaroo Newborn Baby Care, International Health Policy and Management, Medical Ethics, Organ Transplantation, National Essential Drugs Policy, HIV/AIDS; Breast Cancer; Violence Against Women; Youth UN Participation and Children’s Human Rights.

Dr. King was a part of SAHARA: Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS Research as the Chair of the Continental Advisory Board, and worked on forging public private partnerships, including a MOI between

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University of Bayreuth (Germany) and SAHAA. She was on the Friends of Madagascar Advisory Council (FOMAC) led by the late Madagascar Ambassador to the USA, H. E. Ambassador Jocelyn Radifera. Dr. King’s focus is on International Public-Private Partnerships in Development that has its foundation of 35 years of living and working in 11 countries and traveling to over 65 countries in Asia, Africa, Americas, Middle-East, Americas and Europe.

Dr. King is currently a Trustee of CRAE- Children’ Rights Alliance of England. She has also represented the International Council of Women (Paris) at various UN meetings and has served on the Boards of Directors including currently, the Acid Survivors Trust International (ASTI) based in London, UK; and had served on the board of directors of the National Black Women’s Health Project (Atlanta, USA), Positive Art: Women and Children with HIV/AIDS (South Africa), The Life Foundation: AIDS Foundation of Hawaii, The Black Alliance for AIDS Prevention, the Pediatric HIV/AIDS Care, Inc., and the Ronald McDonald House. Dr. King is a Founding and Board member of Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP), member of the Women’s Foreign Policy Group (WFPG), and has been active member of various International Rotary Clubs for fifteen years.

Dr. King is currently completing a research degree (PhD). She also has completed advance certificates in the study of Children’s Human Rights, from the UER Droits de l’enfant/Children’s Rights Unit, Institut Universitaire Kurt Bösch (IUKB) in Switzerland.

Dr. King holds a Diploma Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (DTM&H); Doctorate (PhD) in Philosophy in Public Health and Policy from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, University of London; a Master in Business Administration (MBA) in International Health Management from Thunderbird American Graduate School of International Management, Master in Public Health (MPH) in international Health from the University of Texas School of Public Health; and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) from the University of Hawaii.

Dr. King is the very proud mother the 11-year old “Little Ambassador” Ariana-Leilani Margarita Alexandra KingPfeiffer, whose life has inspired the founding of the Ariana-Leilani Children’s Foundation International (2008) to educate and advocate for children’s human rights worldwide. (Updated October 2014)

ARIEL FOUNDATION INTERNATIONAL www.arielfoundation.org

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AFI Changemakers Summit on Energy and Environment: Diverse Perspectives, Challenges and Way Forward

H. E. Ambassador Ireneo Namboka BOARD OF DIRECTOR, CHAIR (FRANCE) Rtd. UN Staff – ( June, 2010 after 15 years of service) Mr. Namboka participated in three United Nations peacekeeping operations: Haiti, Rwanda and Liberia. He was Desk Officer for Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zambia at the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights (OHCHR) HQ, Geneva (1998/2003. He was the Regional Programme Officer for the Southern Africa (SADC) regional office of OHCHR in Pretoria from February 2003 to June 2004. In July 2004 Mr. Namboka joined the United Nations Department for Peacekeeping (DPKO) in the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) as the Protection Advisor and served till June 2010.

Since leaving the full time United Nations service in June 2010, Mr. Namboka has maintained activities in the defense of human rights, transitional justice, peace-building through creative writing, training module designing and conference work. From March to September 2012 Mr. Namboka served as the international consultant (Advisor) to the Co-Chairmen of the Provisional Commission of reflection on national réconciliation, Guinea.

As an expert with UNITAR on the protection of civilians in post conflict- countries he developed a Training Module for serving and intending Peacekeeping military, police and civilian personnel, mainly in Africa including taking part in the documentary realized by the Government of Australia and UNITAR. In 2008, Mr. Namboka served on special assignment as Senior Advisor to the Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG) in the United Nations Office for West Africa (2008) in the capacity of Head of the Human Rights and Gender Affairs division – June to October.

Mr. Namboka has conducted a wide range of workshops and seminars for government officials, police and military as well as for members of civil society/ non-governmental organisations. Currently he part of the team of trainers with the King’s College of London NGO – Africa Office based in Nairobi Kenya. Prior to joining the United Nations service Mr. Namboka served in the Uganda diplomatic service for 13 years starting in 1974 under the Idi Amin Dada regime at headquarters and abroad at the Ugandan missions in Gabon, Great Britain and France.

Mr. Namboka is an alumni of Makerere University, (BA Hon. Political Science); University of Paris I – Sorbonne Pantheon (Ėtudes du 3ème Cycle Droit – International Public); Centre d’Études Supériuères Industrielles (CESI)Aix en Provence –MA; United Nations Staff College, Turin – Italy and the United Nations University, Amaan- Jordan(Diplomas). He attended King’s College Budo, Bishop’s Senior School, Mukono in Uganda and received the specialized endurance and leadership training from the East African Outward Bound Mountain School, Loitokitok, Kenya. He is a holder of the highest Boy Scout’s badge in his country.

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H. E. Ambassador Molelekeng Ernestina Rapolaki BOARD OF DIRECTOR, VICE CHAIR (LESOTHO)

H.E. Ambassador Molelekeng Ernestina Rapolaki assumed her assignment as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Lesotho to the United States of America in December 2001 until 2008. Since the end of her term, Ambassador Rapolaki has been the Ambassador-in-Residence at Winston-Salem State University. She is also accredited to Brazil, Canada and Mexico on a non – residential basis.

She completed her BA degree in Economics at the National University of Lesotho in 1980 and obtained her MPA with specialization in Population Policy at the University of Southern California in the U.S. in 1993.

Prior to her appointment as Ambassador of the Kingdom of Lesotho to the United States, She held the following positions in the Ministry of Development Planning: • Planning Officer, 1980-1985; Senior Planning Officer, 1985 – 1987; Director of Economic Policy, 1987 – 1992; Director of Population and Manpower Planning, 1994 – 1997 and that of Principal Secretary of the Ministry, 1997-2001.

• The Ambassador led the process of establishment of the Department of Economic Policy within the Ministry of Development Planning in 1987.

• She spearheaded the establishment of the Department of Population and Manpower Planning in the same Ministry in 1994.

• She won a research awarded on Population Policy Communication from the Population Reference Bureau in Washington D.C. in 1993.

• She contributed Chapters on Population, Health, Education and Mining Sectors in the Economic Options for Lesotho published by the Institute of Southern African Studies (ISAS) at the National University of Lesotho (NUL) in 1997.

• She wrote and presented a keynote address on Lesotho’s Economic review since independence for Vision 2020 forum held in January 2001.

• She also received Women who Make a Difference Award from the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs Inc. USA in 2002.

ARIEL FOUNDATION INTERNATIONAL www.arielfoundation.org

AFI Changemakers Summit on Energy and Environment: Diverse Perspectives, Challenges and Way Forward

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AFI Changemakers Summit on Energy and Environment: Diverse Perspectives, Challenges and Way Forward

H. E. Ambassador Izben Williams BOARD OF DIRECTOR (SAINT KITTS & NEVIS

Highlights of educational/professional and civic-society development of Ambassador Izben Williams.

Tertiary Education: University of Toronto, University of the West Indies, University of Miami, and the George Washington University.

Trained in General Medicine, Psychiatry and Public Health.

Practiced General Medicine and General & Forensic Psychiatry between 1977 and present.

Psychiatrist-in-Chief at St. Kitts & Nevis’, main Hospital from 1992.

Adjunct faculty at University of the West Indies, and at Windsor University School of Medicine 1997-2001.

Chairman, Inter-American Drug Abuse Commission 1995-1998.

Accredited St. Kitts and Nevis Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the USA, and Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States (OAS) 2001. Demitted office 2011.

Advisor, Department of Hemispheric Security, Organization of American States (2011-2012) Founder and President of The Ripple Institute SKN (2012); a social development NGO whose essential purpose is the wholesome development of children and youth.

Rejoined Windsor University School Medicine 2014 and currently Professor and Head in the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Medical Ethics; Clinical Preceptor in Psychiatry; Chair of Faculty Affairs and Development.

Elected by the Board of Trustees of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) 2019, an International Fellow of the APA .

Co-founder and President of the St. Kitts and Nevis Chess Federation (SKNCF). SKNCF founded in 2019 and inducted into the full membership of The World Chess Federation (FIDE) in February 2020.

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Mr. Joseph Bonner BOARD OF DIRECTOR

Joseph Bonner is an experienced mental health coach dedicated to supporting and comforting the international community through his nationally syndicated podcast the “Joseph Bonner Show, and his international magazine, the Joseph Magazine.

Joseph Bonner PR is unique PR and Publicity Agency with clients in industries including non-profit, corporate, music, media, and entertainment.

ARIEL FOUNDATION INTERNATIONAL www.arielfoundation.org

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AFI Changemakers Summit on Energy and Environment: Diverse Perspectives, Challenges and Way Forward

Dr. Feyi Ogunade EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF AFRICA UNION WATCH

FORWARD Young people today are coming to age in a world beset by crises. Across the globe, nearly 800 million people live without any access to electricity – about 600 million of them in sub-Saharan Africa. In a world of deepening inequalities between the haves and have-nots, this is a glaring injustice. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic devastated lives and livelihoods around the world, the socio-economic systems of the past had put the liveability of the planet at risk and eroded the pathway to healthy, happy, fulfilled lives for too many, especially for the hundreds of millions in Africa. Lack of power inhibits those aspects of daily life that many of us take for granted. Electricity powers our economies: we need it in schools, offices, and hospitals, where it now refrigerates life-saving vaccines. Young people in Africa are, therefore, right to be deeply concerned and angry, knowing that it is possible to fix the energy deficit in Africa.

With available cheap renewables and green investments, we can make energy poverty history within the next decade. Unfortunately, despite technological progress, the world is not on track to deliver on our global commitment to universal energy access by 2030. So, what can Africa do to address its energy deficit. The future of the continent belongs to young Africans. Almost 60% of Africa’s population is under the age of 25, making Africa the world’s youngest continent. This burgeoning youth population is an opportunity for the continent to address Africa’s sustainable development challenges, of which lack of energy is one. This is not be a walk in the park for our young people. Concrete actions are required, given that 11 million of them join the African labour market each year and they need electricity. But our young people are best placed to lead this transformation. How to do this is a crucial component of Africa’s Agenda 2063 strategic framework for the continent’s future and of global Sustainable Development Goals.

The good news is many of our young people are rising up to the challenge. In the past 10 years of working in Africa, I have seen networks of people between the ages of 20 and 30 working to address problems right across the continent, including innovative ideas about how to address Africa’s energy crises. What follows is a summary of the First Annual AFI Summit on Energy and the Environment involving young people debating the future of energy in Africa. Enjoy reading what our young people have to say.

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Justice Ohene-Akoto FUTURE ENERGY LEADER, WORLD ENERGY COUNCIL CHAIR AFI

INTRODUCTION Energy and environment are two inseparable entities. The byproduct of energy affects the environment adversely or positively.

Energy, in physics, is defined as the capacity to do work. Work here means an activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or results. This literally means, without energy, virtually nothing will be achieved. Just imagine the world without work, that is highly impossible. If the world cannot exist without work, then we will have work in a way that will not become a threat to our existence either. The environment refers to the surroundings or conditions in which a person, animal, or plant lives and operates. In as much as work is to be done for our survival, it should not be at the expense of our lives nor the lives of the unborn. In this case, we think of sustainability.

Over the years, the world has struggled with finding ways of marrying energy and environment. The world is at the point of danger as a result of impacts of energy on the environment. This has called the attention of the United Nations and various stakeholders in finding ways of eradicating these adverse effects. Some of this call to order actions includes the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Paris Agreement amongst others to tackle issues of climate change, safe & clean energy, etc.

In order to discuss the challenges of energy and environment from diverse perspectives and propose possibly solutions, the Ariel Foundation International (AFI) organised her maiden annual summit on energy and environment. The summit was under the theme, “1st Annual AFI Summit on Energy and Environment: Diverse Perspectives, Challenges and Way Forward”. The presenters for the summit included Young African Leaders at Ariel Foundation International, Future Energy Leaders (FEL-100) at the World Energy Council and other stakeholders. The presenters tackled issues of energy and environment from diverse perspectives which includes engineering, academia, law, policy, entertainment, governance, technology amongst others. The specific objectives of each presenter was centred on education and sensitization of the general public on energy and environment, spelling out challenges from diverse backgrounds and finally, proposing possible solutions to these challenges. The areas that were tackled includes global trends such as decarbonisation, net zero emissions, cost of unserved energy, solar energy, energy poverty, role of power grids on climate change, investments in clean energy, energy efficiency, role of entertainment in energy and environment, amongst others.

This publication may serve as a blueprint for governments, international bodies and relevant stakeholders in tackling issues of energy and environment. Most importantly, all the contributions are from the youth who addressed the subject matter from a youthful perspective. This is the time to tackle the challenges on energy and environment. It is every individual’s business.

It is a collective effort which involves the efforts and actions of everyone. We owe the unborn generations a clean, friendly, habitable and sustainable energy and environment. We have only one world, its ether we save it now or never!

Let’s Make Energy and Environment Great Again!

ARIEL FOUNDATION INTERNATIONAL www.arielfoundation.org

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AFI Changemakers Summit on Energy and Environment: Diverse Perspectives, Challenges and Way Forward

Jeremiah Thoronka KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Jeremiah was born during the Sierra Leone civil war and grew up in a camp for displaced people, where firewood and charcoal were the only energy sources available for lighting and cooking. As a result, photochemical smog – a harmful consequence of burning coal – caused air pollution and respiratory problems among his peers. It was this situation that turned Jeremiah into an enthusiast and advocate for renewable energy and climate change.

Today, Jeremiah is an experienced renewable energy entrepreneur and scholar, determined to make a significant contribution to renewable energy development and help create a secure energy future in Africa. He has used his skills to develop Optim Energy, an innovative piezoelectric device that harnesses energy from heat, vibrations and weather (all of which naturally occur in the environment) to create affordable and clean power in local communities. Recently, Optim Energy has grown into a larger initiative aiming to shrink greenhouse gas emissions, educate citizens about energy efficiency, and build a sustainable energy sector in Sierra Leone.

As an author, Jeremiah has published articles on climate change, global warming, development policy, youth involvement, and entrepreneurship. He has presented research papers and organised workshops at some of the world's largest youth gatherings, such as the World Youth Forum, World Energy Conference, Young Energy Efficiency Conference, and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Innovation Week.

Over the years, Jeremiah’s contributions have also been recognised with various awards, including the Global Student Prize, Meaningful Business 100, the African Leadership University Academic Excellence Award, and the African Leadership University Innovative Thinker/Entrepreneur 2020. Jeremiah is a student energy fellow, a fellow at African Fellowship for Young Energy Leaders and Renewable Energy Technology Training Institute, an Anant Fellow for climate Action with Anant National University, and a Commonwealth Scholar at Durham university pursuing an MSc in Sustainability, Energy and Development. In 2021, he received the Commonwealth Youth Award for Excellence in Development and was also listed by the World Wildlife Fund as a Top 100 Young African Conservation Leader.

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A STEP FORWARD COP26 came to an end a few weeks ago, but the damaging effect of climate change continues.

We are losing more forests, many streams and rivers are drying up, fossil fuel plants are being built, and we continue to fail to find a middle ground at the global level to end climate change.

However, with all this menace going on, we have young people like you all here today leading change and adding their voice on how different solutions can be used as a web in solvingclimate change. Many young people dream of securing a platform where their voices, and insight can be heard - we are opportuned to be here today representing their voices and insighnt. It's exciting to see what you all are doing in your respective fields, the future looks great. The future of our planet is in safe hands.

This is a summit organized by Ariel Foundation International in partnership with the UN, together they are united to empoer us all from diverse backgrounds around the world, to have a voice and affect positive change in our respective communities. I encourage you all to leverage on your different expertise to create an ecosystem of young changemakers who meet through this summit. Form a community that will be drivers of positive change across different sectors that will be sustainable, resilient and efficient.

My name is Jeremiah Thoronka, and I have benefitted from this community and other similar communities I am part of. These types of communities have supported me to be the changemaker I am today.

I’m not going to stand here before you to convince you how important your actions are towards making the world a better place; how you are needed; and the importance of us [Young people] taking up ownership of the problems in our communities. You know this; I know this and we all know this. You may have heard this before, our world is rapidly changing in a way that if not handled well will have a devastating impact on us all. And yet amidst all of this, it is you who are redefining the best way we should go. Let's take a step forward, I stand here today calling all of us to action. So, on behalf of Ariel Foundation International, I stand here and ask you all to join us in taking action.

ARIEL FOUNDATION INTERNATIONAL www.arielfoundation.org

AFI Changemakers Summit on Energy and Environment: Diverse Perspectives, Challenges and Way Forward

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Member

AFI Changemakers Summit on Energy and Environment: Diverse Perspectives, Challenges and Way Forward

A lecturer by profession and researcher, excellent in multitasking and composed when working under pressure.

Abdul-Majid Issah Malori

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I have served as the Head of Electrical & Electronic Department since 2020 at Bolgatanga Technical University.

I am cofounder and Operations Manager of Green Honey Company Limited which employs over 200 people in the agribusiness sector.

I hold diploma certificate in Business Management and Administration.

ARIEL FOUNDATION INTERNATIONAL www.arielfoundation.org

AFI Changemakers Summit on Energy and Environment: Diverse Perspectives, Challenges and Way Forward

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AFI Changemakers Summit on Energy and Environment: Diverse Perspectives, Challenges and Way Forward

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ARIEL FOUNDATION INTERNATIONAL www.arielfoundation.org

AFI Changemakers Summit on Energy and Environment: Diverse Perspectives, Challenges and Way Forward

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AFI Changemakers Summit on Energy and Environment: Diverse Perspectives, Challenges and Way Forward

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ARIEL FOUNDATION INTERNATIONAL www.arielfoundation.org

AFI Changemakers Summit on Energy and Environment: Diverse Perspectives, Challenges and Way Forward

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AFI Changemakers Summit on Energy and Environment: Diverse Perspectives, Challenges and Way Forward

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ARIEL FOUNDATION INTERNATIONAL www.arielfoundation.org

AFI Changemakers Summit on Energy and Environment: Diverse Perspectives, Challenges and Way Forward

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AFI Changemakers Summit on Energy and Environment: Diverse Perspectives, Challenges and Way Forward

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ARIEL FOUNDATION INTERNATIONAL www.arielfoundation.org

AFI Changemakers Summit on Energy and Environment: Diverse Perspectives, Challenges and Way Forward

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AFI Changemakers Summit on Energy and Environment: Diverse Perspectives, Challenges and Way Forward

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ARIEL FOUNDATION INTERNATIONAL www.arielfoundation.org

AFI Changemakers Summit on Energy and Environment: Diverse Perspectives, Challenges and Way Forward

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Member

AFI Changemakers Summit on Energy and Environment: Diverse Perspectives, Challenges and Way Forward

A humanitarian young African woman who passionately work to impact life.

She is a Young Speaker, Mentor, Changemaker, Young Activist, Motivator and a Social Entrepreneur.

Abigail Oppong

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ARIEL FOUNDATION INTERNATIONAL www.arielfoundation.org

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AFI Changemakers Summit on Energy and Environment: Diverse Perspectives, Challenges and Way Forward

IMPORTANCE OF AI IN ENERGY TRANSITION The Covid-19 situation has had both positive and negative impacts on various industries including the energy sector. The pandemic was an unexpected situation that called for a no preparations for many industries. It affected the supply, demand, prices and investments and some notable aspects of the energy sector. The figure below will be used to explain certain critical observations that happened in the energy industry before, during and after the pandemic to leverage on the importance of AI in energy transition.

Pre-covid activities in the energy sector saw an increase in demand for petroleum as individuals heavily rely on energy to fuel their daily activities. Due to lockdown and other restrictions during the pandemic, the demand for petroleum and its products went down. Economic activity was performing at its best before the Covid-19 situation set in. In April 2020, the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimated the demand for the oil market down at 30% as compared to previous year which got to a level not experienced since 1995 (Oil Market Report - August 2020 – Analysis, n.d.). According to (Norouzi, 2021), the short-term impact of the pandemic in the Oil and Gas industry decreased by 25% in the consumption of petroleum. It is slowly recovering to its former state with an increase in growth. Some of the notable long-term impacts are decrease in the investments of CAPEX and R&D from 30% to 40% over the oil and gas market which tend to be a regional scale in the United States projecting a decrease in more than 800 in 2019 to 265 in 2021 caused by the projects on oil exploration. Aside this, there were some interesting developments in the industry as well when it comes to innovations in the transmission, distribution, and consumption of energy across certain countries. For instance, in Ghana, during lockdown where physical contact was restricted, individuals were encouraged to use a digital platform for energy payments which seeks for innovation, leaving behind the legacies. The conversations around Energy Transition are now paramount as the need for it seems promising for the future. Economies have started picking up as activities have started picking up to normal.

Most leaders in the industry by now have learnt from this experience as they intend to work on policies and regulations to better position the industry for such unfortunate situations. This calls for the development of digitalizing tools that could help leaders in the industry work around to recover quickly and prepare for future inconveniences.

Artificial Intelligence is on of the tools needed by the sector to leverage energy transition. Artificial Intelligence is basically a concept of machines ability to perform certain tasks relying on human intelligence. It involves a set of techniques, models, and algorithms with the use of datasets to perform tasks whiles Energy Transition in a nutshell according to many sources is the shift in the Global energy sector to from the fossil-based systems of energy to a renewable one.

The principles of AI in energy transition were developed by the World Economic Forum to help guide the way forward. They came up with nine principles which were categorized under governing, designing and enabling.

Designing is Automation, Design and Sustainability, Enabling is data, incentives and education whiles governing is risk management, standards, and responsibility. In a nutshell, a well powered AI system or tool possesses an automated design that will be able to sustain for long whiles enabling the usage of data and incentives to be

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applied on AI techniques, models, and algorithms through experts in the field who have acquired the required knowledge through education. This will help set the quality standards needed to manage the risks in the industry projecting the necessary responsibilities needed to accomplish this goal. At the end, there will be an increase in efficiency and savings through analysis made using the data. The AI tool will also help manage complex systems and decentralized energy systems precisely. Power systems will be coordinated accordingly. The world hope to achieve decarbonatization in 2050, AI is the main tool needed to help fasten this process.

According to (Wester, 2021), the chemicals Park Rotterdam in Netherlands, the cost of maintenance was early detected by an AI tool to be $2 million at an instance saving time as Shell also achieved 25% time saving in certain parts of their work. Shell has also made a significant growth in cost savings doubling to $2 billion from $1 billion after adopting AI in energy which played a key role.

In conclusion, AI in energy transition will help improve services and energy efficiency as there will be transparency. As a Ghanaian speaking and advocating on behalf of the youths in Ghana and Africa, I stand to inform our leaders of our ability to also develop these technologies to benefit the sector by training young researchers in the field. Whist the urgency might push leaders to source for experts externally, it is also important they train and leverage on local researchers as they are equally capable to deliver. The youths are doing their best by setting up startups and the likes to help digitize the energy sector but the intervention of our leaders is also needed to make this possible by putting Africa first.

REFERENCE Harnessing Artificial Intelligence to Accelerate the Energy Transition. (n.d.). World Economic Forum. from https:// www.weforum.org/whitepapers/harnessing-artificial-intelligence-to-accelerate-the-energy-transition/ Norouzi, N. (2021). Post‐COVID‐19 and globalization of oil and natural gas trade: Challenges, opportunities, lessons, regulations, and strategies. International Journal of Energy Research, 10.1002/er.6762. https://doi. org/10.1002/er.6762 Wester, N. (2021). Adopting Artificial Intelligence to Accelerate the Energy Transition: An overview of the Applications of AI and Activities necessary to Accelerate the Transition in the Port of Rotterdam. https://repository.tudelft. nl/islandora/object/uuid%3A444d8b46-fba1-4a86-9c87-d88d145682be Oil Market Report—August 2020 – Analysis. (n.d.). IEA. Retrieved November 30, 2021, from https://www.iea.org/ reports/oil-market-report-august-2020 B.;Sitter,Christopher;Wasilewski,Derek, C., Kevin M. ;Mead,David;Reed,Stephen. (n.d.). From the barrel to the pump: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on prices for petroleum products : Monthly Labor Review: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved November 30, 2021, from https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2020/article/fromthe-barrel-to-the-pump.htm

ARIEL FOUNDATION INTERNATIONAL www.arielfoundation.org

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Member

AFI Changemakers Summit on Energy and Environment: Diverse Perspectives, Challenges and Way Forward

Demonstrated history of working in the think tanks industry.

Skilled in Leadership, Foreign Policy Analysis, Diplomacy, and Public Speaking.

Amina Ali

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Current position: International Energy Fellow at the African Energy Chamber.

ARIEL FOUNDATION INTERNATIONAL www.arielfoundation.org

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AFI Changemakers Summit on Energy and Environment: Diverse Perspectives, Challenges and Way Forward

ENERGY POVERTY Africa is 30.5 million square kilometers, a total area space larger than all of Europe, China, and the United States of America, and 60% of its population is under the age of 25. This means, that this population requires a lot of energy for their daily activities to ‘keep up with the world’ now, and for a long time to come.

The growing demand for energy on the continent is an issue that all governments are dealing without across the continent. Yet still, with Africa’s immense wealth in sunlight, hydropower, wind, oil and gas - many people lack access to reliable energy services.

WHAT IS ENERGY POVERTY? Energy poverty—when understood as the energy usage habits of poor households—highlights the extent to which poor people spend a greater portion of their income and time meeting their energy needs than do wealthy households, despite the fact that wealthy households tend to consume more energy overall (Bacon et al., 2010; Khandker et al., 2010).

It is often described as a “catalyst issue” – something necessary to make other things happen. When that energy is able to provide services, such as heat for cooking or light for illumination, it can have a profound effect on human wellbeing. What matters when addressing energy poverty is providing people with the energy services required to meet their basic needs.

Energy poverty poses a substantial challenge for development. If people lack the ability to light their homes after sunset, activities such as studying, domestic chores, and even small business endeavors must end when the sun goes down. Likewise, if people are unable to warm or cool their houses, they can be left very uncomfortable at certain times of the year, with particular risks to the very young and very old. Further, when populations living

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in energy poverty do gain access to fuels, they often risk significant harm. For example, the burning of traditional biomass in people’s homes is estimated to cause 600,000 deaths annually due to respiratory problems in sub-Saharan Africa alone.

The elimination of energy poverty can lead to the adoption of digital technologies which may change the nature of work in Sub-Saharan Africa by creating new opportunities and challenges.

Implementation of policies and productive investments need to be improved in these main areas: • Enabling inclusive digital technologies; • Building human capital for a young, rapidly growing, and largely skilled labor force; and • Increasing the productivity of informal workers and enterprises.

SOLUTION Gas, which is abundant in Africa, both in Egypt and Mozambique, must play an important role in the energy mix going forward if the African continent is to meet its economic, political and social objectives of reducing poverty, reducing inequality and raising the standard of living of all its citizens. The global transition to cleaner energy, coupled with the oversupply of fossil fuels, price volatility, and cost pressure, have made private and public sector oil and gas players rethink their business strategies. It is in the continents best interest to step up and use all its available resources , to reach a continental desired goal of making energy poverty history.

And at the forefront of this all is that we going to need good governance that creates an enabling environment for widespread economic growth and improved infrastructure. African leaders need an steady will power to make Africa work for us and have every single person come along with us to eradicating the situation we find ourselves in.

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Member

AFI Changemakers Summit on Energy and Environment: Diverse Perspectives, Challenges and Way Forward

As the Editor of the Electricity Law Reports - a compendium of decisions of Courts on Electricity Matters – and Electricity Digest - a Journal of articles on topical issues within the Nigerian Electricity Sector.

She has played pivotal roles in key electricity deals as transaction counsel for various power projects across different states in Nigeria.

Chinenye Ajayi

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She led the team that structured and advised several renewable energy companies in raising funds from the capital market.

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AFI Changemakers Summit on Energy and Environment: Diverse Perspectives, Challenges and Way Forward

BOOSTING INVESTMENT TOWARDS CLEAN ENERGY ACCESS IN AFRICA

By Chinenye Ajayi Background Energy poverty remains a central problem in sub-Saharan Africa and a clean energy revolution is urgently necessary to win the fight against energy poverty. In Africa, only about half the population have access to electricity, whilst a large part of the households, businesses, and communities that do have access suffer from epileptic and costly service, if not regular blackouts . According to the African Development Banks about 640 million people of the African population lack quality, affordable electricity.

Clean energy provides a golden thread to deliver on the promise of Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement.

Access to clean energy can unlock sustainable economic growth, improve human health and well-being and enable women and children to lead more productive lives. The clean energy approach captures the concerns of the need to tackle climate change and bridges the energy deficit in Africa.

There is no gain saying that implementation of clean energy technologies at a large scale in Africa require huge capital investments which Africa alone may not afford. According to the International Energy Agency , the yearly investments towards improving power supply in Africa would need to increase fourfold, to around $120 billion a year until 2040.

Over the years, the challenge has never been about the availability of funds (public and private) at the local or international level. The bane of bridging the energy gap in Africa has always been about unfavorable factors that exist within the economies of African countries that tend to inhibit the flow of investment.

The article focuses on highlighting these factors and proposing ways forward to enhancing the flow of investment to bridge the clean energy access gap in Africa. i. Investment Policy and Legal Framework A good policy and legal framework is of paramount importance in attracting the much needed investment towards access to clean energy. Policies, laws and regulations must be consistent, clear and predictable to instill confidence in both public and private investors. Many African countries have no favorable investment energy policies, others have their policies varied intermittently whilst others have policies that are barely implemented.

To motivate investment towards access to clean energy, policies must be clear and consistent enough to assure investors of adequate return on their investment, security of their investment, ease in repatriation of profits as well as investment incentives and benefits. Such incentives could include tax waivers, exemptions, elimination of import and export duties on clean energy products. For instance, the Nigerian government by its Value Added Tax (Modification) Order, 2021, recently exempted renewable energy equipment from the payment of Value Added Tax .

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African governments must ensure that policies across the energy value chain are effective and workable. This implies that ease of doing business within the energy sector must be of paramount importance such that investors are able to set up their business structures with minimal bureaucracy. For huge investments at the national level, government must be willing to give relevant sovereign guarantees as security where required.

The right investment policies will positively influence the decisions of all investors, be they small or large, domestic or foreign. Transparency, property protection and non-discrimination are investment policy principles that should be considered. Other policies can include giving foreign and domestic investors in clean energy equal opportunities and reducing restrictions around local content or foreign ownership to the barest minimum. Efforts must be made to protect intellectual property rights for clean energy technologies and the court systems must be efficient to deliver timely justice by ensuring that contracts between clean energy producers and their partners are enforced. ii. Tariff and Energy Pricing Energy prices are regulated in most African countries and these prices often do not reflect the real cost of generating and distributing power. The goal of investment is to make returns or profit and where this is not guaranteed, it likely that potential investment will hold back. Clearly, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is directed to markets that show potential for profit maximization, risk reduction and promotion of competitive advantage and in the future.

To facilitate investment, the pricing though regulated must be one that ensures that investors have a good return on their investments. A good tariff must be accompanied by a transparent tariff revision formula that takes into consideration factors like inflation, foreign exchange rate amongst others.

It is also important to tackle fundamental price distortions such as subsidies.

That said, balancing attractive risk-return rates with accessible and affordable services is essential for growth and development . As an illustration, rural areas are the most expensive places to electrify given that they are sparsely populated, far from load centers and cannot take advantage of economies of scale. Yet they are also some of the poorest places, such that full cost recovery by energy investors would make the services unaffordable. This can be tackled by introducing incentives to cover the reduced prices of energy services. iii. Availability of Data.

Availability of reliable data is key in driving investment decisions. Quality and reliable data play a vital role in helping financiers and project developers determine the appropriate financial structure or technology to adopt such as grid extension, solar home systems, or mini-grids. Absence of data raises issues around transparency and accountability in that it becomes difficult if not impossible to measure, monitor and evaluate government financial interventions to bridge the energy gap. To this end data on consumer enumeration, market performance, electricity consumption, metering, load shedding and others must be readily available in the right format to guide local and international investors in their decision making. iv. Adoption of sustainable and innovative business models and financial instruments The right business model enable investors create social value and maximize

profit while helping to create new markets or further developing markets.

To deliver clean energy infrastructure, access to affordable long-term finance is fundamental. In many African countries, however, access to longterm finance is constrained by shallow and illiquid financial markets as well as limited number of financial products.

To bridge the energy gap, public financing alone will not be enough to meet these investment needs due to budget constraints. Accelerating finance towards clean energy access therefore requires leveraging both national and international private investment. This is where innovative investment approach such as blended finance comes into play. Blended Finance (BF) is becoming a prevalent financing approach with the potential of attracting private sector investors to otherwise high risk energy projects.

It entails the use of catalytic capital from public or philanthropic sources to increase private sector investment in sustainable development projects.

Some BF financing tools include concessional capital (equity or debt investment below market rate), credit enhancement (guarantees), technical assistance facility and design stage grant.

It must however be noted that BF is unlikely to suffice for mainstreaming and scaling up foreign and domestic private investment in clean energy infrastructure to the levels required. This means other innovative tools needs to be developed and implemented.

The appropriate financial tools will help deploy pipeline of low-risk bankable projects capable of attracting the right investment. For instance denominating foreign loans in local currency can reduce exchange risks and provide currency hedge. According to the World Economic Forum, there are other financial innovations being contemplated to create more renewable energy investment opportunity. Examples include : • Synthetic corporate power purchase agreements(CPPAs)- In a synthetic PPA structure no power is physically traded. In its place, the agreement functions with a derivative contract structure where the offtaker and power generator consent to a defined 'strike price' for power generated by a renewable energy facility. This arrangement can offer a hedge against a corporate buyer’s fluctuations in power cost while providing demand for renewable energy; and, • An energy transition mechanism (ETM), gives investors the opportunity to buy high carbon-emitting assets, retire them and replace them with renewable energy. Financial returns in an ETM investment come from operating the high carbon and renewable-energy assets. This is often being complemented with other initiatives , such as carbon credits for accelerated retirement, diversion of fossil fuel subsidies, performance payments for reaching agreed targets. v. Independent RegulatorGood public governance of the electricity market is key to attracting investors. The government must ensure the independence of the electricity market regulator – including budgetary independence from line ministries, and in the appointment of its top management personnel. This is to place the regulator in a position to take the best unbiased decisions in the interest of sector. An independent Regulators works to create a level playing field for both independent power producers (IPPs) and State Owned Entities (SOEs) and indeed all players.

The Regulator must have the political will to see policies and regulations through without bias whilst guaranteeing a well functioning procurement process, seamless procedure for obtaining licenses and fair competition in

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the electricity market. Penalties should be imposed for breaches and incentives granted for compliance. One of the major function of every regulatory agency is to monitor businesses under its purview and ensure compliance with regulations, policies and relevant laws. Thus, investors are confident that objective regulations will be enacted and enforced. vi. Gradual shifting of investments from carbon- intensive to low-carbon infrastructure and renewable sources.

Given the drive to reduce the effect the climate change, certain categories of investors are only open to investing in countries that have policies that support low carbon infrastructure or renewable energy sources. Thus, attracting such investment will require deliberate implementation of policies and mechanisms of channeling funds away from fossil fuels and to direct them to clean energy such as renewable energy powered mini grid, etc.

For instance, Chile passed a binding decommissioning schedule for coalfired power plants; engaged with private power plant owners to develop coal phase-out schedules; and implemented a tax on carbon for larger coalfired power plants . This makes countries like Chile attractive for investors in green projects and climate related projects. viii) Appropriate Targeting and Allocation of International Investments According to the World Bank, international public financial flows to developing countries in support of clean energy amounted to $14 billion in 2018.

However, it has been observed that most of the financial commitments are focused in a few countries . Thus, failing to reach many of those countries who are most in need of international support. The reasons are not unconnected to the factors earlier mentioned above.

This notwithstanding, efforts must be made to further scale up international financial flows particularly to those countries falling furthest behind in reaching SDG 7. Thankfully, the African Development Bank through its “Light Up and Power Africa- A New Deal on Energy for Africa” has highlighted aspirational goal of providing 160 GW of new capacity by 2025 with a strong focus on encouraging clean and renewable energy solutions. It is estimated that the investment needed will range between US $60 billion and US $90 billion per year. The AFDB has undertaken to invest US $12 billion of its own resources in the energy sector over the next five years .

CONCLUSION Mr. Kevin Kariuki whilst discussing availability of funds for clean energy transition during the United Nations High Level Dialogue stated that "Just as power follows the path of least resistance, capital also follows the path of least resistance". This means that developing countries must establish favorable legal, regulatory and financial framework to attract investment into their energy space.

8 World Economic Forum- https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/06/ boost-renewable-energy-investment-in-developing-economies/ 9 Light Up and Power Africa- A New Deal on Energy for Africa https://www. afdb.org/en/the-high-5/light-up-and-power-africa-–-a-new-deal-on-energyfor-africa 10 Vice President for Power, Energy, Climate & Green Growth at The African Development Bank Group

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Member

AFI Changemakers Summit on Energy and Environment: Diverse Perspectives, Challenges and Way Forward

Obtained her BSc in Electrical Engineering at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana. Following this, she worked as a Technology Analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in London, UK.

Jennifer Appiah-Kubi

In 2018, Jenny started the direct PhD program at Virginia Tech, USA, from which she earned the MSc in Electrical Engineering.

Currently, she is pursuing a PhD in Electrical Engineering and spends time researching on the cybersecurity issues of the power grid.

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AFI Changemakers Summit on Energy and Environment: Diverse Perspectives, Challenges and Way Forward

THE ROLE OF THE POWER GRID IN CLIMATE CHANGE Jenny Appiah-Kubi Abstract The power grid plays a crucial role in climate change, both as a contributor to the problem, and a solution. The aim of this short presentation, intended for a wide range of audiences, is to briefly explain climate change and discuss the role played by the power grid. Some technical challenges related to how the power grid helps solve the problem are also addressed.

Introduction Climate change is no longer a looming danger; it is here, it is in the now! All over the world, people are beginning to feel the pangs of climate change, from displacement of coastal communities to extended droughts. But what exactly is climate change? Climate change is the long-term deviation from natural weather patterns and atmospheric temperatures native to the different geographical regions. While it may be caused by natural occurrences, climate change is mainly the result of human activities. When carbon-containing gases (e.g. carbon dioxide, methane, etc.), called green house gases (GHGs) are emitted into the atmosphere, they act as a blanket around the Earth, trapping in the heat from the sun. The increase in atmospheric temperature that results is termed global warming. One may immediately see that a consequence of global warming is the melting of polar ice caps, which, together with the increase in temperature, leads to rising sea levels, floods, more intense tsunamis and typhoons, and displacement of coastal communities. Furthermore, the higher concentration of GHGs in the atmosphere increases the acidity of the oceans, harming marine life and altering the ecosystems dependent on it.

The Role of the Power Grid 1. As a contributor to the problem It is clear that the main culprit is the presence of GHGs in the atmosphere. But where do GHGs come from? There are several sources, which includes agriculture and energy systems. Energy systems mainly comprise electricity generation, heating and transportation. In all of its components, carbon emission from energy systems result from the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal and crude oil products. These are fuels rich in carbon. According to the United Nations , fossil fuels make up about 80% of current global primary energy demand, and energy systems are the source of approximately twothirds of global carbon dioxide emissions. In 2019 alone , about 64% of the world’s electricity was produced from fossil fuels. In the US , electricity generation accounted for about 25% of the total GHG emissions, while about 62% of electricity produced came from burning fossil fuels. In the same year, 29% of total carbon emission in the US came from transportation. Around the globe, this pattern of heavy dependence on fossil fuels to produce energy is consistent. Thus, one notices the contribution of energy systems, and in particular, electricity production, to climate change.

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2. As a solution to the problem One main way to deal with climate change is to make drastic changes to energy systems. The electric system appears to be an encompassing component of energy systems; both transportation and heating may be electrified. Consequently, a sustainable green grid has the potential to yield significant results in carbon emission savings.

A sustainable grid that supports electrified transportation and heating has been the subject of active research for decades.

Thankfully, the intense research has yielded technology that not only electrifies transportation (e.g. electric vehicles, electric trains, etc.) but also enables the integration of some level of renewable energy resources (e.g. solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy, etc.) into the existing grid. Chief of these renewables are solar and wind technologies. In fact, according to the United Nations , about 260GW of renewable energy capacity was added globally in 2020, and solar and

wind accounted for about 91% of this. Governments and legislative bodies around the world have enacted policies, that includes renewable energy integration subsidies and tax credits, and developed structures (such as carbon emission trading) to facilitate the speedy transition to a green grid. Certainly, these are steps in the right direction.

Some Technical Challenges While policy changes are effective, a more technical question to address is: is the power grid capable of handling the steep increase in load as a result of electrified transportation and heating? And is it ready for high renewable energy penetration? The latter question is addressed in the remainder of this essay, as it helps to answer the former. To that, the answer is currently not straight-forward.

One major problem is the intermittency of renewable energy sources: the sun is not always shining, nor is the wind always blowing. Even in instances when there is sunshine (or wind), the intensity of sunshine (speed, for wind) may vary over a short period of time. Subsequently, sole reliance on renewable energy sources is a challenge. To overcome this barrier, energy storage system (ESS) technologies have been actively researched, and battery technologies have been discovered that significantly improve the storage capacity of electricity. It is therefore the case, currently, that excess electricity produced from renewable sources are stored

by ESSs and used to augment the operation of small versions of the grid, called microgrids. The introduction of high-technology ESSs significantly increases the cost to operate such a system built on renewables. However, with continued research, it is expected that costs associated with operating renewable energy systems will be reduced. One main current research direction for this is the application of artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to meteorological data to predict and enact smart decisions in the dispatch and control of renewable energy resources.

A second technical difficulty is system frequency control. Traditionally, electricity is produced by generators with turbines that have high mechanical inertia. This means that it takes a significant amount of force to turn those turbines. The equipment that consume electricity, termed load, are not constant. They are sometimes connected, and sometimes not. This means that the load on the power grid varies. The variation in load over the course of time results in varying ‘force’ on the turbines of generators.

Since they have high inertia, it takes significant load events to alter the rotation of the turbines, i.e., it takes significant load events to alter the system frequency. Thus, the heavy machinery lend some stability to the power grid. With renewables, this is not the case. They connect to the power grid through equipment called (smart) inverters, which are static devices. Hence, coupled with its intermittency, renewable energy integration has potential to cause undesirable system fluctuations which may be intense and frequent. Then, the objective is to create virtual inertia for renewable systems. Thankfully, there has been research in this direction and promising results thereof. Among the proposed techniques is the so-called ‘grid-forming’ inverter technology, which enables virtual inertia in an inverter so that it acts like a traditional mechanical generator. This is an emerging technology.

Lastly, the protection equipment of the grid are a hindrance. The traditional grid supported a unilateral flow of electricity: power is generated at a generation center, it is transmitted through a transmission system and made available to customers through a distribution system. With renewable integration, individual consumers are able to set up their own generation systems which may feed the grid with excess energy if available. This implies that the grid’s protection equipment which relied on this characteristic unilateral direction would not be helpful in such situations. Furthermore, the traditional mechanical generators used in the grid have certain properties that make it possible for protection devices to easily detect when there is a fault in the grid. Inverters, which connect renewables to the grid, do not have these properties. Subsequently, protection equipment may not be triggered even in the presence of a fault. The research on electric system protection is ongoing, and has produced some promising preliminary results.

Conclusion In conclusion, the power grid is a major culprit in carbon emissions, and thus, in the climate change problem. However, it is also a major tool to curb the menace. While several good strides have been made toward making the grid sustainable, a lot remains to be done. In specific, certain technical challenges persist that call for radical engineering.

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AFI Changemakers Summit on Energy and Environment: Diverse Perspectives, Challenges and Way Forward

Member

Ing. Justice Ohene-Akoto is a multiple award-winning Ghanaian Professional Engineer and Researcher.

He has currently been appointed as a Future Energy Leader at the World Energy Council. Ing. Ohene-Akoto is the National Vice-President of the World Energy Council’s Future Energy Leaders Ghana (FEL Ghana) and an Electrical Engineer with the Volta Aluminium Company Limited (VALCO). He is Co-Founder of Maiseville Groupe Company Limited.

Justice Ohene-Akoto

In July 2021, he won the Best Student Paper Award of the 2021 International Conference of Electrical and Electronics Engineering at the World Congress on Engineering 2021 held in London, United Kingdom. He was crowned Rising Star in Ghana’s Energy Sector at the Ghana Energy Awards 2020. In the same year, he emerged a Forty Under 40 Achiever at the Forty Under 40 Awards 2020. He has been nominated for the innovation project of the year and the digitalisation project of the year at the 5th Ghana Energy Awards.

As an industry player and a researcher in the academia, he helps bridge the gap between these sectors. Ing. Ohene-Akoto owns an innovation patent in electric vehicles and corona virus transmission prevention system with the Australian and German Governments respectively.

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AFI Changemakers Summit on Energy and Environment: Diverse Perspectives, Challenges and Way Forward

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AFI Changemakers Summit on Energy and Environment: Diverse Perspectives, Challenges and Way Forward

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AFI Changemakers Summit on Energy and Environment: Diverse Perspectives, Challenges and Way Forward

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AFI Changemakers Summit on Energy and Environment: Diverse Perspectives, Challenges and Way Forward

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AFI Changemakers Summit on Energy and Environment: Diverse Perspectives, Challenges and Way Forward

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Member

AFI Changemakers Summit on Energy and Environment: Diverse Perspectives, Challenges and Way Forward

Currently in my senior year at Kyambogo University, aspiring to graduate with an Undergraduate Degree of Chemical and Process Engineering.

Mugisa Aloysius Mary

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This puts me on the front line of solving outstanding environmental problems like Pollution, Waste Management, Degradation, Expensive energies. Greenhouse Effect, Global Warning to mention a few.

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AFI Changemakers Summit on Energy and Environment: Diverse Perspectives, Challenges and Way Forward

GREEN WORLD EVOLUTION – WORLD WE ALL SEEK Mugisa Aloysius Mary Northrop Fyre a literal critic to William Shakespeare coined the term “The Green World” to describe a place of magic and often used in Renaissance comedies as a place where characters can escape society's trappings, where problems are magically solved and lives are put to rights. In layman’s dialect, the green World refers to a jungle. Thick woods like the Black Forest of Europe were considered great places of self-discovery, fear and possibly of dark magic. Well today, these worlds are becoming folk tales, they are no more, and cease to even exist.

Today I come to remind our grandparents in positions of Authority and influence that the nature you once relished is no more, the jungles you travelled in with awe and amusement alongside your loved ones are now harbors of machinery and production. We then once studied how rivers and other water categories form different types of natural rain, but ever since we enjoyed development and prosperity, another type was introduced-Acidic Rain. Our ancestors had their homes well neat with plantations as flowers of the eye, all animals (domestic and wild) had places of rest, feeding and Family breeding. All these have been corrupted by a change in the weather and climate, creating a crisis that many generations ahead are not going to allay effortlessly.

In many places around the world, the air is hot, heavy, and depending on the day, clogged with particulate pollution.

Your eyes often water. Your cough never seems to disappear. You can no longer simply walk out your front door and breathe fresh air. Instead, before opening doors or windows in the morning, you check your phone to see what the air quality will be. Everything might look fine—sunny and clear—but you know better. When storms and heat waves overlap and cluster, the air pollution and intensified surface ozone levels can make it dangerous to go outside without a specially designed face mask (which only some can afford).

Google suggests that the main causes of these changes are all man-centered. Let us run through a few; Energy production through burning of coal, oil and natural gas, Manufacturing industries that emit billions of dangerous fumes to the air and cutting down of trees which is obvious to many of us. It is becoming unbelievably hot, so hot that 50 million years ago the Arctic Circle was a niche to many crocodiles, palm trees and sand tiger sharks. Climate change is leaving its mark on the bog complexes of the worldly Forests. Due to rising temperatures and longer dry periods, many plant species have gone extinct over the last 40-100 years. The populations of many others have decreased by one third. Our forests have been greatly damaged by extreme weather events, according to the new Forest Condition Report 2020. The drought realms, massive bark beetle infestations, storms and recurrent forest fires have caused long-term damage to the many forests in Canada, Germany, Italy, Greece and Spain, the report says.

The UN Environmental Program (UNEP) has embarked on the term and concept called “Green Economy”. This is defined as an economy that results in improved human wellbeing and social equity while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities (UNEP 2010).

One of the challenges we have as humanity is a lack of perspective ecology wise. Frances Moore Lappe in his 2011 Eco-mind article in the Green Economy in Action, he states, “the hard fact of human existence is that if our mental

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is flawed, we’ll fail no matter how hard and sincerely we struggle”. Many leaders have not realized the gravity of the weather and climate changes, rather they dwell more on politics, urbanization and military visions.

Anyways for a Green Economy to thrive, we must hit the following buttons; 1. Productivity. Incentives for greater efficiency in the use of resources and natural assets, including enhancing productivity, reducing waste and energy consumption, and making resources available to their highest value use.

2. Innovation. Opportunities for innovation, spurred by policies and framework conditions that allow for new ways of creating value and addressing environmental problems.

3. New markets. Creation of new markets by stimulating demand for green technologies, goods, and services; creating new job opportunities.

4. Confidence. Boosting investor confidence through greater predictability and continuity around how governments deal with major environmental issues.

5. Stability. More balanced macroeconomic conditions, reduced resource price volatility and supporting fiscal consolidation through, for instance, reviewing the composition and efficiency of public spending, and increasing revenues through putting a price on pollution.

Green growth will also reduce the risks to growth from: 1. Bottlenecks that arise when resource scarcity or reduced quality makes investment more costly, such as the need for capital intensive infrastructure when water supplies become scarce or water quality decreases. In this regard, the loss of natural capital can exceed the gains generated by economic activity, undermining the ability to sustain future growth.

2. Imbalances in natural systems that raise the risk of abrupt, highly damaging – and potentially irreversible – effects. Attempts to identify potential thresholds suggest that some – climate change, global nitrogen cycles and biodiversity loss – have already been exceeded.

To have a world full of life, we need to be keen to the available crisis-Climate Change. The effects for the future include temperatures beginning to rise (this is ongoing), frost-free seasons lengthening, changes in precipitation patterns, more droughts and heat waves, hurricanes becoming stronger and more intense, sea levels rising by 1 to 8 feet by 2100 and the Arctic becoming ice free. These effects will be beneficial in some countries and harmful to many others.

As leaders, we need policy strategies that stop causes of increased climate changes, for not only our consumption as countries but also our future grandchildren. We should plant trees we are never going to use their shade. Your and my greatest need is not a gift made out of wood but rather a new seed to be planted and watered. As UNEP and many other platforms advocate for Green Economies, let us teach, sensitize, and introduce knowledge on the effects arising from non-green growths and developments.

REFERENCES 1. Environmental Outlook to 2030 (2008) 2. Globalisation, Transport and the Environment (2010) Greener and Smarter: ICTs, the Environment and Climate Change (2010) 3. Greening Household Behaviour: the Role of Public Policy (2011) 4. Greening Jobs and Skills: Labour Market Implications of Addressing Climate Change, OECD Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) Working Paper Series (2010) 5. Linkages between Agricultural Policies and Environmental Effects: Using the OECD Stylised Agri-environmental Policy Impact Model (2010)

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Prince Williams Jr.

Prince Williams Jr. better known as (Uncle Swerve) is a young entrepreneur, Film Producer, Record label manger, Promoter, musician, and actor based in Johannesburg South Africa.Prince was born at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angles (USA) he was raised in BEVERLY HILLS til the age of (12) then moved to South Africa with his late Mother. Prince is a Founder and CEO of Youth in the Booth (YITB). A company that is aimed at empowering and promoting the various talent of all background.

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AFI Changemakers Summit on Energy and Environment: Diverse Perspectives, Challenges and Way Forward

ENTERTAINMENT AS A TOOL FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION Presented by: Prince Williams Jr. • Media as an ally of the environment Through entertainment we can make people advocates of environmental issues—above and beyond raising their awareness. We can promote solutions to ecosystem challenges and positively influence environmental decision.

• The environment in entertainment Currently, environmental education through media suffers from limited engagement, audience fatigue, as well as an underutilization of certain engagement formats.

There is a need to develop creative content that reaches a broad audience, addresses environmental concerns and stimulates problem-solving.

• The entertainment industry is expanding, and environmental messaging can be a part of this.

We need to understand what our audience need in terms of entertainment and then get our messages across that,” Across multiple social and digital platforms there are around 2 billion searches a month for the word sustainability (and similar terms) and around 80 per cent of searches on YouTube are viewers looking to learn something.

• Informative content on the environment There is interest in, and demand for, informative content on the environment but it needs to become more entertaining and engaging.

Currently, messages designed to mobilize action can come across as preachy and boring. And when interesting content is created, it can be difficult to share it widely and for people to access it. Partnerships are crucial for amplifying environmental messaging.

• To instigate environmental action through entertainment there needs to be: - Positive narratives concerning our environment - Environmental messaging in mainstream entertainment - Efforts to shift audiences from awareness of an issue to advocates of the issue - Joint work between and within environmental and entertainment to produce and disseminate content - Engagement of youth with content they respond to - Strong communication skills amongst those involved in environmental messaging • Young Celebrities Speaking Out in Support of Climate Change

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1. Jaden Smith is appealing to his young fans – and their parents, too – to get them engaged in climate issues. “It’s amazing the youth have gotten so involved. And they have to stay involved,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation last year, discussing his own personal involvement in international climate protests. “But that bond [with parents] really matters. Eventually parents will see things have to change.” The 22-year-old participated alongside Al Gore in last year’s star-studded TED’s climate program, Countdown, and is also fighting for clean-water rights in communities like Flint, Michigan.

2. BlackPink The K-pop superstars of Blackpink have recently started using their massive platform to speak out about climate change. They’ve repurposed their catchphrase “Blackpink in your area,” to a rallying cry, “Climate action in your area,” and have released videos discussing the importance of learning more and getting involved. They’ve also been named goodwill ambassadors for the UN’s climate change conference, which will take place in Scotland later this year, to continue raising awareness.

3. Autumn Peltier Indigenous activist Autumn Peltier may not be a Hollywood celebrity, but that hasn’t stopped her from becoming one of Canada’s most prominent activists, with her advocacy being focused on the universal right for clean water. She was just eight years old when she started learning about the lack of access to clean water in Indigenous communities across Canada from her mom and aunt while growing up on Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory on Manitoulin Island. In 2016, she met with Justin Trudeau, and she was named chief water commissioner for the Anishinabek Nation – an advocacy group for 40 First Nations across Ontario – taking over the role from her late great-aunt. The teen has also spoken at the United Nations General Assembly twice, saying: “I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again: We can’t eat money or drink oil.”

4. Greta Thunberg At just 18 years old, Greta Thunberg may be one of the most famous climate change activist in the world. She’s become known for challenging governments around the world to do (much) more when it comes to protecting the environment, including in her native Sweden, where she started youth-led strikes in an attempt to make change. Soon, students around the world joined her in climate marches in their own countries. Like Peltier, she’s also addressed the UN in New York. “How dare you? I shouldn’t be up here,” she said. “I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean, yet you all come to us young people for hope.”

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Member

Professionally am an Environmentalist and also a passionate writer. I am the founder of Sunshine, a brand that radiates the dark days in people’s lives through Inspiration, Encouragement and Motivation.

Mental health advocacy is one of our key areas of focus, being that we live in times where we do see that mental health struggle cases are on the rise therefore we have it upon ourselves to create awareness on this topic.

Shantal Kisimba

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I am also a youth champion at Activate Action which is a youth led organization working with vulnerable young people including young people living with HIV and disabilities.

Lastly, I am a mental health champion at Pepea Champions which is a group of youths with the ages between 18-30 years who have taken leadership in matters mental health by speaking about their lived experience to challenge stigma. I believe in the possibility to create meaningful change in our societies.

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NEED FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION

By Shantal Kisimba from Kenya The current Environmental state is in dire need for conservation because globally we are experiencing an Environmental crisis. First, let us understand these two terms, Conservation and Environmental Conservation.

Conservation in regards to the Environment refers to the responsible management of the Environment and its resources for the present and future use.

Environmental Conservation on the other hand is the practice that paves the way for protecting the environment and natural resources on the individual, organizational as well as governmental levels. If Environmental Conservation is addressed, we will help in battling several Environmental threats that are affecting us globally.

John James ones said “A true Conservationist is a man who knows that the world is not given by his fathers, but borrowed from his children.”

Environmental threats are harmful after effects of the human activities to the environment. Some of the examples of these threats to the Environment include: • Pollution • Global Warming • Ocean Acidification • Loss of Biodiversity • Deforestation • Ozone Layer Depletion • Acid Rain • Soil Degradation • Waste Disposal • Climate Change These threats are majorly caused by human activities and in the long run they directly affects humans. It is important we understand and be aware of these Environmental threats for us to come up with long lasting solutions that can help us deal with them.

• Pollution: Air, water and soil pollution are common problems globally often caused by plastics, heavy

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metals, gases released from factories, burning of fossil fuels, acid rain, oil spills, industrial wastes, motor vehicle exhaust and surface run offs. All these harm our Environment.

• Global Warming: This refers to rise in the global temperatures as a result of increase in the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere due to human activities causes global warming. This increase in temperature leads to rising sea levels, melting of polar ice caps, flash floods, desertification, wild fires and drought.

• Ocean Acidification: This is the decrease in the PH value of the earth’s ocean. Increase in the production of CO2 by humans causes the Ocean’s acidity to rise which has a negative impact on marine life.

• Loss of Biodiversity: Species and habitats are becoming extinct due to human activities. Some of the causes of biodiversity loss include; Pollution, climate change, destruction of habitats, invasion of alien species and overexploitation such overfishing and overhunting.

• Deforestation: This refers to the loss of tress in order to make space for residential, industrial or commercial projects. Forests absorb CO2 from the atmosphere and release O2 and also helps in regulating temperature and rainfall. Clearing of these forest covers will definitely interfere with the above processes.

• Ozone Layer Depletion: The Ozone layer is an invisible layer of protection around the planet that protects us from the Sun’s harmful rays (UV radiation). Pollution in the air caused by Chlorofluorocarbons creates a hole in the Ozone layer. Some of the sources of these CFCs include; refrigerators air conditioners and aerosols sprays.

• Acid rain: Pollutants in the atmosphere such as Sulfur dioxide and Nitrogen dioxide causes acid rains. This has negative consequences for humans, wildlife and aquatic species.

• Soil degradation: Our food security is dependent whether or not soils are in good conditions to produce crops. Damaging of soil occurs due to several reasons; erosion, overgrazing. Exposure of the soil to pollutants, monoculture planting and many more.

• Waste Disposal: There is a huge production of waste globally and poor disposal of this waste causes a huge threat to our environment. Waste such as plastics, electronic wastes, harmful chemicals cause a great threat to our Environment.

• Climate Change: This refers to long term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. This increases the frequency and intensity of natural events like droughts, wildfires, heat waves, rainstorms and hurricanes.

Leonardo Dicaprio ones said “Our planet’s alarm is going off and it is time to wake up and take action.”

Understanding the importance of conserving our Environment will trigger that inner drive to take action. We are now aware of the various threats faced by our Environment now we need to understand why taking action is of great importance.

Why Environmental Conservation?

• To reduce air, water and land pollution • To ensure protection of biodiversity • To save our planet from harmful repercussions of global warming • To save our forest covers • To help in economic stability • To protect our health. Cleaner air and a cleaner environment will automatically create a drop in disease spread.

• To protect the aesthetic value of the Environment • To protect the lives of the future generations • To protect the natural habitat of various species.

From our definition of Environmental Conservation, we do realize that we all have a role to play in saving our planet. What are some of the measure we can take to help conserve our Environment?

• Afforestation practices will help in restoration of our forest covers hence maintaining ecological balance.

• Create Public awareness on the importance of Environmental conservation while highlighting the existing envi-

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ronmental threats and effects to humanity if we do not take action.

• We need to control pollution by adopting environmentally sustainable methods to minimize multiple forms of emissions and waste release such as eliminating waste, saving electricity, limiting the unnecessary usage of fertilizers, insecticides and pesticides and using energy efficient appliances.

• Adopt environmentally friendly lifestyles • Adopt waste management techniques • Species on the verge of extinction should be saved.

• We need to adopt the 3Rs i.e. Recycle, Reuse and Reduce to help in waste management • Deforestation needs to be stopped At the end of the day we need the Environment to survive and we shouldn’t be thinking of ourselves only but the future generation as well. This is enough drive to help us navigate through our choices that are causing harm to the Environment and in the long run affecting us directly. This is a wakeup call, the Environment is bleeding, we need to tend to it and remember we will be saving us too.

References https://leverageedu.com/blog/environmental-conservation/ https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-atmospheric-carbon-dioxide 2011 Eco-mind article in the Green Economy in Action, he states, “the hard fact of human existence is that if our mental is flawed, we’ll fail no matter how hard and sincerely we struggle”. Many leaders have not realized the gravity of the weather and climate changes, rather they dwell more on politics, urbanization and military visions.

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Member

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Thaddeus Anim-Somuah

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Ghanaian & British Chemical Engineer World Energy Council FEL Forbes 30 under 30

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Member

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Yewande Olatunde

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She is a graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria where she had her BSc. in Civil Engineering and furthered her education with a Master degree in Renewable Energy from CPEEL, University of Ibadan bagging a distinction.

Yewande is a Certified Energy Auditor under the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE), a member of Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), a member of National/International Association of Energy Economics (NAEE/IAEE) and a Future Energy Leader (FEL-100) under the World Energy Council. She has had the opportunity to function on a global platform on Occupational Health and Safety as a Global Juror for Youths, paper presenter in Turkey and Singapore, runner up at the USA Case competition on renewable energy solutions for Western Australia and a delegate from Africa at the International School on Energy Systems, Germany.

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Member

Yvette Neema is a an enthusiastic and a passionate leader whose work is focused on leading organizations in realising and actualising their visions and goals.

She pursues a Chemical and Process Bachelor’s Degree at Kyambogo University in Uganda.

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Currently she works for LEM-Mindfulness, a non-profit organization working to transform individuals and communities living and facing challenges of mental health in Uganda.

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WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS IN AFRICA – ARE THEY SUSTAINABLE?

By Yvette Neema-Uganda Available data from Africa Waste Management Outlook published by UNEP in June 2018, shows that 125 million tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW) was generated in Africa in 2012, which is expected to double by 2025. With the increasing population in most African countries urbanization of most cites and change in consumer purchasing habits, Africa is set to undergo a major social and economic transformation over the next century. This is expected to lead to significantly growth in waste generation, which will put considerable strain on already constrained public and private sector waste services and infrastructure.

Nearly half of all the MSW generated in Africa remains within our cities and towns, dumped onto sidewalks, open fields, storm water drains and rivers. Case in point, according to Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) in Uganda, it is estimated that the per capita generation of garbage is one kilogram per day. With a population of about 1.5 million, this works out to about 1500 tons. The council can only manage to dispose of 40% - 50% of this. About 80% of this garbage is organic matter which makes it very bulky to handle.

With good waste collection services often only found in the city centers, while municipal waste services in suburbs, the situation is much worse in rural areas where often no formal waste collection services exists. Current MSW collection services in most African countries are therefore completely inadequate resulting in the leakage of waste into the environment, including the fresh water and marine environment.

Notably, the current inadequate waste management practices in Africa are causing economic, social and environmental impacts. These commonly include; • waste disposal in landfills • indiscriminate dumping • open burning • recycling Open burning of waste causes significant air pollution, which affects human health and contributes to changing climates. Methane and black carbon released through open burning of waste are short-lived climate pollutants with strong effects on regional and global climate change.

Indiscriminate dumping of waste is common in urban areas creating increased risk of diseases like cholera, malaria, typhoid fever, dengue fever and Zika. The dumped waste material may also find its way into wastewater drainage channels causing blockage of these channels, which in turn will increase the maintenance costs. Contaminants from pesticides, fertilizers, man made products such as gasoline, oil can also get into the groundwater through leaching, thus causing pollution of water bodies.

As a result of air pollution from reckless industrial emissions and exhaust fumes emitted from old vehicles, it has been estimated that deaths in Africa have amplified by 60% in the last two decades. An approximate US$114 billion was estimated by the World Bank as the economic impact of air pollution in Africa.

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Changing consumer behavior has resulted in increasing plastic consumption, which combined with weak municipal solid waste collection systems yields increasing plastic waste pollution. With scientific studies demonstrating that pollutants derived from chemicals and plastics are potentially introducing endocrine disruptors in humans and subsequently impairing brain development in developing fetuses and babies, plastic waste stands a threat to human life.

With the above insights and findings, it can be concluded that the waste management systems in Africa are unsustainable and causing notable effects to man and his surrounding.

Fortunately, various African countries are adopting more sustainable modes of waste disposal and management. For example; The waste disposal management companies in South Africa have invested in new technologies where by user-friendly smart phone application facilitates prompts service, extra pickups and bill payment through push notification. In addition, new automated waste management sensors have been introduced, that trigger instant alerts every time a container is full and needs services.

While in 2017, the Ethiopian government transformed the Koshe dumpsite into a waste-to-energy plant; incinerating approximately 1400 tons of waste materials daily towards generating electricity. Addis Ababa therefore supplemented approximately 30% of household electricity, re-purposing approximately 80% of the rubbish towards energy supply.Under the AFCC2/RI – Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project Phase II (LVEMP) II, an East African Community (EAC) initiative coordinated by the Lake Victoria Basin Commission Secretariat and implemented by the five EAC partner states, a new treatment plant, Bugoloobi–Nakivubo wastewater treatment plant was commissioned on 28th April, 2021. The plant has a capacity of 45000m3 per day, making it the largest wastewater treatment facility in Uganda. “The plant uses harmless technology and bio-filters and is odorless. It will serve the needs of more than 350,000 residents and the entire transient population of Kampala City,” says the state –owned National Water and Sewage Cooperation (NWSC). The facilities allow the fermentation of the sludge for the production of biogas. The combustion of this highly purified gas allows the production of 630KW of electricity. The residues from sludge methanisation process are distributed as fertilizers to local farmers.

Other alternative waste treatment methods that can find applications in Africa include; 1) anaerobic digestion 2) land fill gas-to-energy 3) dirty material recovery facilities 4) gasification 5) pyrolysis 6) plasma gasification This is my plea as a Young Leader to International and African Leaders, Environmentalists, Media, citizens living in these countries, all of us to voice these challenges. We should seek solutions through social and technological innovations, policy implementation, and Public awareness inorder to re-create a world that is habitable, safe and clean for the coming generations.

References 1. https://www.mwe.go.ug/projects/lvemp-ii/ 2. https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/68270 3. https://www.independent.co.ug/bugoloobi-wastewater-plant-operational/ 4. What A Waste; Innovation in Africa’s Waste Material Management /AUDA-NEPAD

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Special Speaker

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Anita Chebbi SPECIAL SPEAKER (UNEP)

Anita has over three years of experience in the Energy sector, with a focus on developing intervention and strategies to ensure that there is reliable, affordable and modern Energy access in communities. I have vast experience Evaluation of Renewable energy projects, Energy policy formulation, Energy Research and data analysis, monitoring of (renewable energy) development projects. I currently co-ordinate women and youth related activities in the energy sector through youth and women

empowerment, capacity building and policy advocacy. I have established a great understanding of the statistical and energy modeling analysis programs like STATA, MATLAB, LEAP and MESSAGE among others equipping me with the ability to come up with statistical analysis for inference and decision making.

Anita holds a Master’s degree in Energy Economics from the African Centre of Excellence in Energy for Sustainable Development and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics.

She volunteers with United Nation Major Group of Children and Youth, YOUNGO, Eco-mindset, and Youth Sustainable Energy Hub (YSEH) where she is part of the team that coordinates and carries out research on diverse issues concerning Energy and Environment. She advocates for proper mechanisms to be championed in the energy sector to see the overall growth of the economy in a country.

AFRICAN SUMMIT-26/11/2021 Opportunities for Women and Youth Entrepreneurs and their impacts in the Clean Energy Space - Best practices from African Women Energy Entrepreneurs Framework (AWEEF) & Res4Africa What are the prospects of having more women and youth energy entrepreneurs in the clean energy space?

Women and youths are mostly characterized as potential stakeholders, beneficiaries and agents of change in the transformation to clean energy space. They have the potential to unlock more effective energy and environmental activities and drive policy change since; (1) They have sound knowledge of local resources and sustainable resource management practices at the household and community levels.

(2) At the local levels, they are often key actors in building community resilience and responding to climate-related disasters. Women tend to make decisions about resource use and investments in the interest and welfare of their children, families, and communities (3) They are powerful agents for change in the transition to and promotion of sustainable energy since they play a particularly crucial decision making role in the adoption of clean cooking solutions (4) Rural women are engaged predominantly in agriculture hence needs energy to engage in small scale income-generating activities (5) Using renewable energy to make existing livelihoods stronger through (Irrigation, Agriculture) (6) They can create awareness to other women and youths on clean energy solutions and positive impacts in their lives (7) Access to energy frees up women’s time by increasing their efficiency of domestic chores and allows them more time to take up paid work Barriers faced by women and youth as entrepreneurs engaged in clean energy products and service Despite women and youths being potential agents of change, they still face a lot of challenges. Women have the knowledge and understanding of what is needed to adapt to changing environmental conditions and to come up

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with practical solutions. But there is still a largely untapped resource • Limited access to finance : Women find it very difficult to source finance for their businesses • Conflicting responsibilities associated with traditional gender roles :Gender norms and traditional household roles often restrict women’s economic potential • Lack of business education and skill development: Women have limited access to education, information, technology and skills • Government laws and regulations continue to discriminate against women • Gender based violence and sexual harassment can curtail the ambitions of women entrepreneur • Unfavorable business environment: An enabling environment for micro and small businesses is not always conducive As a result, when women and youth participate and have a say in the governance of energy, ecosystem and environmental processes, it results in greater responsiveness to the needs of the people.

Opportunities for Women Entrepreneurs- Practices from African Women Energy Entrepreneurs Framework (AWEEF) AWEEF was launched following decisions made by in African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) in Libreville in 2017 to serve as a vehicle and platform to enable African women to play a pivotal role as change agents and decision-makers in the sustainable energy sector. This decision was made in the context of accelerating the implementation of the global and continental development policy processes namely (i) Agenda 2030 of the SDG (ii) African Union Agenda 2063, and, (iii) Paris Agreement 2063 This is through; (i) Development of gender-responsive policies in the energy sector and means of implementation; (ii) Creating access to finance and market (iii) Developing technical and business skills to economically empower African women in the energy sector.

AWEEF accomplishments • Created a database of African women entrepreneurs with total members of 250

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• Through the partnership with Res4Africa, trained more than 300 youths in Africa on Micro grid applications. This can be witnessed by corporate members of AWEEF in Kenya they were able to set up their own micro-grid in Meru and Turkana county.

• Spurred and stimulated the interest of private developers to offer opportunities for women in businesses and entrepreneurship in the energy sector • Started implementation of two pilot projects in Mozambique and Tanzania with the objective to contribute to climate action through socio-economic empowerment of women entrepreneurs in Renewable Energy sector ACTIONS OF CHANGE AWEEF Started the implementation of the pilot project in Mozambique with the objective to contribute to climate action through socio-economic empowerment of women entrepreneurs in the Renewable Energy sector.

The results of the project include; • 60 women’s from the District of Chongoene equipped with technical skills in the renewable energy sector • So far, 5 solar kiosks constructed • 656 household, women-headed (70%), has shifted to solar lighting • A total of 1575 mobile stoves and 210 fixed improved cooking stoves were distributed.

• 70 jobs created (60 for women entrepreneurs and 10 for youths) Solutions to Challenges faced by Women entrepreneurs Actions by AWEEF • Ensure that women have platforms to voice their opinions, aspirations and priorities and incorporate them into

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energy policy and implementation.

• Promote women entrepreneur networks, including those working on renewable energy.

• Co-operation and partnerships between national and international networks to facilitate entrepreneurial endeavors by women in the economy.

• Improving women’s access to renewable energy and clean cookstoves, as well as enhancing women’s economic benefits.

• Promoting women as entrepreneurs in off-grid energy technologies to bring energy services to un-served and underserved communities • Encourage adoption of renewable energy to improve productivity in existing livelihoods value chains (for example, by powering water pumps to improve agriculture and horticulture in drought prone areas, solar energy for crop drying, agro-processing Conclusion • Achieving the global goal to provide universal access to sustainable modern energy by 2030 (Sustainable Development Goal 7 – SDG 7) will require huge effort and great creativity. At the same time, universal access cannot be achieved without ensuring gender inclusive and youth informed.

• The AWEEF and its agenda capture the relationship between renewable energy, gender equality and economic development.

• AWEEF will serve as a vehicle and ensure that implementation of the Solution action plans to tackle the global (SDG 2030 and Paris agreement 2015) and continental (AU Agenda 2063) sustainable development challenges and gaps while incorporating women and youth decision in implementation strategy.

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