Climate and Energy in the Africa-Europe partnership: Leading the way to the AU-EU summit

20 January 2022. Africa-Europe Foundation High-Level Special Dialogue 

Energy and Climate in the Africa-Europe Partnership: Leading the way to the AU-EU Summit

This debate built on the aftermath of COP 26, which have left unhappy both climate activists and made African partners keen to address the key challenge of insufficient access to energy on their own continent.  

By addressing the best ways to take care of ensuring energy transition for all, this debate fostered a dialogue about the best pathways to energy transition for the two continents and its people, that ensures both access to energy for all and climate concern.

"The whole continent of Africa consumes the same amount of energy as the island of Manhattan with around 25 countries consuming less than 500 megawatts and the largest just below 2000."

See the report of this meeting

Speakers

• Thierry Breton - European Commissioner for the Internal Market Ambroise Fayolle - Vice-President at the European Investment Bank (EIB) 
• Tanja Gönner - Chair of the Management Board at the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) 
• Mo Ibrahim - Founder and Chairman of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation 
• Uzodinma Iweala - CEO of The Africa Center 
• Wanjira Mathai - Vice-President and Regional Director for Africa at the World Resource Institute 
• Charles Michel - President of the European Council 
• Damilola Ogunbiyi - Chief Executive Officer of Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All and Co-Chair of UN-Energy 
• Benedict O. Oramah - President of Afreximbank 
• Mary Robinson - Honorary President of the Africa-Europe Foundation, Chair of the Elders and former president of the Republic of Ireland 
• HE Mr. Macky Sall - President of Senegal and forthcoming Chairperson of the African Union starting in February 2022 
• Vera Songwe - Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, UNECA 
• Frans Timmermans - European Commission Executive Vice-President for the Green Deal 
• Laurence Tubiana - CEO at the European Climate Foundation 
• Kandeh Yumkella - Co-Chair of the Africa-Europe Foundation Strategy Group on Energy, Member of Parliament in Sierra Leone, and former CEO of Sustainable Energy for All (SEforAll) and Director-General of UNIDO