Kagame rallies support for clean energy

President Paul Kagame has said investing in green energy will promote sustainable economic growth globally.He made the remarks yesterday while addressing the third World Energy Forum 2012 currently underway in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.The Forum, held in line with the 2012 United Nationals theme of “clean, safe and sustainable energy for all”, began with the signing of the World Energy Day Proclamation dedicating October 22 as a day to raise awareness about energy issues and stimulate political will to support sustainable energy.“It is in our interest to begin investing in green energy so that we can all benefit from sustainable economic growth. As a general principle Rwanda is promoting a green economy and the use of renewable energy,” he told the delegates.The global forum, hosted under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai is, for the first time, taking place outside the headquarters of the United Nations (UN).The three-day high level conference that drew over 2000 delegates, including several Heads of State, scores of national energy ministers, and top leaders from the energy industry among others, aims at charting a roadmap for a sustainable energy mix that can fuel global economic and social development.“We need a regulatory mechanism to which we all subscribe to curb or eliminate wasteful and unsustainable consumption of energy,” Kagame said.“We can set up a consumption benchmark as a measure of well-being to indicate minimum energy consumption per capita. This would reduce waste, increase efficiency and cut costs, enabling wide access to developing countries.”With over 1.3 billion people yet to have access to electricity, this years theme calls on world leaders to ensure equitable access to energy. “It has become clear that when the world acknowledges that there is a problem and acts to resolve it, the outcome is impressive,” President Kagame stated.“We need to address imbalances of energy between developed and developing countries and raise level of consumption and utilisation...the world community should treat access to energy as a basic right essential in the development process.”The President emphasised the need for investment to focus on technologies – particularly those easily available locally that can lead to a more efficient use of energy. “The world community should treat access to energy as a basic right, and essential in the development process.”Kagame pointed out that projections indicate that by 2030 Africa will be the only region, where people without access to electricity will increase.“Africa has pressing issues that need urgent attention. Access to electricity is 31 per cent in urban areas and only 12 per cent in rural areas,” he said.A common point among all speakers was the need to increase investment in innovative infrastructure that have the potential of closing the gap in energy access. In this field, Africa has shown increased growth with a current 30 percent of $257 billion invested in the energy sector in Africa. Kagame stated that in Rwanda, there is increasing generation of electric power from hydro and geothermal sources and from the methane gas. The government is investing in the energy sector to avert the shortfall in supply as well as bringing down energy costs to stimulate business growth. According to the national electricity master plan, geothermal energy is expected to contribute at least 300MW to the national grid by 2017, and potentially provide half of the country’s energy requirements by 2020.Rwanda is also mobilising resources to extract methane gas in Lake Kivu believed to be in excess of 50 billion cubic metres. The country is also promoting the use of peat, solar energy and hydro electric power, among other energy sources. Speaking at the World Energy Forum, Sheikh Maktoum said: “The whole world is facing a lot of challenges in the energy sector. We have to find solutions to enhance sustainable economic development for the whole world.”“The UAE has become a global centre of sustainability by its available initiatives of creating a green economy, solar energy and others that strengthen its competitiveness, and the growth which is preserving its environment for future generations,” Sheikh Maktoum stated.The discussions planned include a renewed debate on nuclear energy, sharing on technological innovations, energy as an investment opportunity and the effect of climate change on energy policies.