The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), in partnership with the University of Namibia, has trained 71 national experts in energy modeling tools.

Development Diaries reports that the training was conducted to support Africa’s transition to low-carbon and climate-resilient development.

The Energy Modelling Platform for Africa (EMP-A), a training programme created to develop efficient investments for the energy transition in Africa, was jointly organised by the ECA and the Climate Compatible Growth (CCG).

SDG Seven: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

Senior Environmental Affairs Officer in the technology, climate change, and natural resources management division of ECA, Linus Mofor, said, ‘I trust that the national experts will be able to apply the modeling skills acquired to contribute to the formulation of these plans for optimal use of Africa’s abundant clean energy resources to drive industrialization and climate action on the continent’.

The CCG programme is funded by UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to support investment in sustainable energy and transport systems to meet development priorities in the Global South.

In 2021, renewable energy accounted for 73.2 percent of the electricity capacity in Namibia.

Available data reveals that Africa is one of the least electrified regions globally; as over half a billion people lack access to electrical energy connections.

Benin, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe were among the countries represented at the training.

Source: UNECA

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