By——-NEVSON MPOFU.
Harare, Zimbabwe. (News of The South) –
Sub-Saharan Africa, South East and Pacific Asia needs at least 49, 4 billion annually and the current spending is 9 billion. World Bank has over the past years since 2007 financed 31 billion in developing countries. Speaking at an CLEAN ENERGY FOR ALL workshop held recently in the capital city, Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority Technical Director, Misheck Siyakhatsha added that adequate financial funding is needed to run Sustainable Energy projects in many countries of the World so as to promote a GREEN REVOLUTION.
’’Countries of the world still taking development steps in response to Sustainable Development Goals need more funding than the current amount so that they can run sustainable projects which can make developing countries in Africa, way Asia and some parts see the light of development in a changing world in which clean energy is the right to go in a modern World.’’
Further on , he cited that high cost financing of Infrastructure amounting from 12 billion to 13 billion to lift up project financing is vital .He continued that for these countries to grow , they need to lure Investments from outside their Region .
‘’Funding for the purpose of Economic development is vital because they is need to promote GREEN ECONOMY. Therefore, we need to support GREEN ENERGY projects at ground so that we can reach targets of GLOBAL ENERGY growth.’’
Commenting on the same issue , Shepard Zvigadza , ZERO DIRECTOR , said , Energy financing was as well delayed by lack of political will in many development countries like in those where civil strife reduce communities to abject poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa , East and Pacific Asia and in some parts of the World.
‘’Lack of this political will has much trodden developing countries which even up to now need strong financial support to lift themselves out of absolute poverty . Sustainable Development Goals will lift people in many countries out of poverty like how they have done in developed countries like China, Japan, America and others.’’
‘’Access to finance stands vital, hence the reason why Sustainable Development Goals are important although they were not part of the Millennium Development Goals’’, he said.
Talking on Investor incentives, an Expert in the ENERGY SECTOR, Sustain Ziuke said , incentives are important because Zimbabwe is only 40% covered by solar energy . All in all 80% of energy is urban and 19% is rural. We still have a long way to go.
‘’Access to Energy types is the challenge in developing countries. Worse still, wood is 80% to 90% in rural areas and 15 to 30% in urban areas. For Energy development to take place at fast rate in these countries there is need for GREEN FUNDING , what we call SMART ENERGY for the sustainability of a GREEN WORLD in which humanity is not affected by POLLUTION , especially AIR POLLUTION which result in Respiratory and Cardio- Diseases , related to Lung cancer , Tuberculosis related to HIV and AIDS and Asthma .’’He commented.
Zimbabwe which still lags behind in Energy development has fuel wood at 60%, liquid fuel 18%, electricity 13% and coal 8%. Although the Zimbabwe Agenda for Socio- Economic Transformation promotes Energy projects sustainability so as to reduce poverty , more than half of its population is living in Energy poverty and needs funding to run such projects .Running under the theme , CLIMATE FINANCE FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT , the one day conference gathered 100 Climate and Energy Experts from around the country .
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