Complexities and geopolitics
On November 6th und November 7th AIA Fellows Albert Ahenkan and Samuel Anuga hosted a webinar workshop with the title “The Transition to Renewable Energy in Europe-Africa Relations”. A round of 20 leading experts from the fields of energy policy, geopolitics and sustainable development gathered remotely, representing both the European and African perspectives. The growing dynamics and challenges of EU-Africa cooperation towards a sustainable energy transition were addressed. The central question of the workshop was how to use the potential of renewable energies as a joint project for Europe and Africa and realize the vision of the EU Green Deal.
In the opening session the strategic partnership between the EU and Africa, with its complexities in geopolitical as well as economic interests was highlighted by Dr Olumide Abimbola from the Africa Policy Research Institute, Berlin. Mr. Chris Vandome from Chatham House, London reflected on the question how African states benefit from the EU Critical Raw Material Act and the UK Critical Minerals Strategy. In the afternoon the focus shifted to the sub-Saharan region with a deeper look at distributive impacts of energy transitions in sub-Sahara Africa. The sessions provided valuable insights into the opportunities and tensions of current energy partnerships and the impacts for different regions.
The second workshop day brought exciting discussions on topics such as energy democracy and decentralization, technology transfer, innovation promotion and the important issue of harmonizing energy policies between the EU and African countries. Especially the understanding for the complex interaction between policy and technology is important to discuss renewable energy as an international political matter. Ms. Doris Edem Agbevivi from the Energy Commission gave insights on how to empower communities for inclusive growth and energy access in Africa. She developed the vision of an energy democracy as a normative guiding principle.
In summary, the workshop not only served as a platform for knowledge exchange, but also as a forum to gain deeper insights for the ongoing research work at the AIA. In this exciting time of global change and energy transition, it should be a common concern to find viable solutions and new approaches to promote strong and fair cooperation in the field of renewable energy
Convener
Albert Ahenkan
Professor of Sustainable Development, University of Ghana
Fellow AIA NRW
Samuel W. Anuga
Research Fellow, University of Ghana
Associate Fellow AIA NRW
Contact
Lisa Hartmann
Public Relations and Events Officer
