On Friday 5th June 2015, BBC Africa Debate – the flagship current affairs discussion programme on BBC World Service radio – will come from the World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town. Recorded and broadcast on World Environment Day, the programme will explore Africa’s energy future ahead of key UN climate talks later this year.
The recording also coincides with a report due to be released by the Africa Progress Panel, chaired by Kofi Annan: “Power People Planet – seizing Africa’s energy and climate opportunities.” The APP executive director, Caroline Kende-Robb, will feature on the BBC panel, which also includes with Edith Nawawki, a former energy minister from Zambia, now an opposition politician and the Managing Director with General Electric (GE) Africa Mamadou Toure.
The panel of experts and live audience, with BBC presenters Nkem Ifejika and Ed Butler, will examine the difficult choices faced by African leaders in a continent where more than 600 million people still lack access to modern energy. One of the UN’s draft Sustainable Development Goals, which will replace the Millennium Development Goals this year, is for universal access to electricity by 2030. On current trends, experts believe it will take Africa until 2080 to achieve this goal.
Nkem Ifejika, co-presenter, says: “Now more than ever, policy makers must confront the difficult and urgent challenge of meeting the energy requirements needed for growth and development – without exacerbating and worsening the effects on the environment. This debate will ask how they can achieve that – and whether renewables are the answer.”
Old arguments about cost effectiveness of renewables are changing, as technologies also change and costs come down. The International Energy Agency says sub-Saharan Africa countries like Mozambique, Rwanda, Ethiopia and Ghana are on the path to unlock their renewable energy potential, with almost half of the growth in electricity generation in the next 20 years coming from renewable sources like solar, water and wind.
But Africa is also rich in mineral resources, boosted by recent discoveries of natural gas in countries like Tanzania and Mozambique – and national governments want to make use of these new discoveries.
With so much energy infrastructure still to be built, Africa has the potential to set a new course for the world in terms of its energy future. But will it? What can Africa learn from newly industralised nations – and what examples can it set for others?
Audiences can join the debate via social media, with conversations on Twitter (#bbcafricadebate) and Facebook (search for BBC Africa).
This edition of BBC Africa Debate will be recorded on Friday 5th June in Cape Town. It will be broadcast by BBC World Service at 1900GMT on Friday June 5 and will be repeated in Africa at 1400GMT on Saturday June 6. The debate will also be online at bbcafrica.com
