PACJA lauds calls for a paradigm shift in the global energy sector

The Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), Africa’s largest coalition of civil society organisations advocating for a just climate regime has welcomed a new report calling for a paradigm shift in the global energy sector leading to NetAZero carbon emission by 2050.

According to the report, Net Zero by 2050: a Roadmap for the Global Energy Sector released by the International Energy Agency last week the global community has a viable pathway to building a global energy sector with net-zero emissions in 2050, but that path is narrow, requiring innovative ways in which that energy is generated, distributed and utilised.

“Our Roadmap shows the priority actions that are needed today to ensure the opportunity of net-zero emissions by 2050 – narrow but still achievable – is not lost. The scale and speed of the efforts demanded by this critical and formidable goal – our best chance of tackling climate change and limiting global warming to 1.5 °C – make this perhaps the greatest challenge humankind has ever faced,” said Fatih Birol, the IEA Executive Director.

Responding to a report, Dr Mithika Mwenda, the Executive Director of the PACJA said the report now provides PACJA with a tool to influence policy formulation, and reviews towards NetZero carbon emission, of course taking coginsance of unique country-positions, opportunities, and challenges faced by the continent.

Climate pledges by governments to date – even if fully achieved – would fall well short of what is required to bring global energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to net zero by 2050 and give the world an even chance of limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5 °C, according to the new report, 

According to Dr Mithika, although sub-Saharan Africa remains a low carbon emitter, the continent is however at the forefront of suffering from the impact of ravages of climate change. The threats of these impacts threaten to be severe in the event of unchecked emissions due to paralysed climate actions. This means that Africa and the world have no option but to commit to NetZero carbon emissions.

In Africa, only South Africa has committed to Net Zero carbon emissions. The country’s greenhouse emission was estimated at 9% in 2020 by the Carbon Action Tracker.

Most of the global reductions in CO2 emissions between now and 2030 in the net zero pathway come from technologies readily available today. But in 2050, almost half the reductions come from technologies that are currently only at the demonstration or prototype phase. This demands that governments quickly increase and reprioritise their spending on research and development – as well as on demonstrating and deploying clean energy technologies – putting them at the core of energy and climate policy. Progress in the areas of advanced batteries, electrolysers for hydrogen, and direct air capture and storage can be particularly impactful.

“The IEA’s pathway to this brighter future brings a historic surge in clean energy investment that creates millions of new jobs and lifts global economic growth. Moving the world onto that pathway requires strong and credible policy actions from governments, underpinned by much greater international cooperation.” 

Fatih Birol, the IEA Executive Director agreed with the sentiments by Dr Mithika and noted that transition of such scale and speed cannot be achieved without sustained support and participation from citizens, whose lives will be affected in multiple ways. The clean energy transition is for and about people.

Read complete report here