Africa-EU energy deals to cut deaths and poverty

The Africa-EU Energy Partnership is a long-term framework for a more structured political dialogue and cooperation on energy issues of importance to both continents.

Through the partnership, all parties should be able to develop a shared vision and a common approach to address the current economic and ecological realities in order to tackle the energy challenges of this century.

The 2nd EU-Africa Summit held in Lisbon, Portugal on Saturday and Sunday provided the ideal platform for heads of states from the neighbouring continents to openly tackle the energy crisis faced by many nations.

South Africa has made no secret of its desire to increase the country's capacity to produce energy that is both reliable and safe to the environment.

The government announced on Friday that it's moving cautiously as it proceeds with its strategy for biofuels production and reducing the initial biofuels production target of 4.5 percent by 2013 to two percent amidst concern about rising food prices.

The five years between 2008 and 2013 will see the first phase of the biofuel industry for South Africa, after which targets will be reviewed.

The period from 2008 - 2013 "is really a pilot stage when we will evaluate the impact of it [the biofuels industry] on the agricultural situation in the country", said the Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica.

Addressing a press conference prior to the summit, Foreign Affairs Deputy Director General (DDG) Gert Grobler said: "This summit, the first one since the inaugural Africa-EU Summit in Cairo in 2000, comes in the wake of considerable change on both continents."

"Globalisation has accelerated and the world has become an increasingly inter-dependant place." On the first day of the summit progress was made with the signing of the Agro-Energy agreement by Mozambique and Portugal.

Later that day former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan addressed a press conference at the sidelines of the event and called for a "green revolution".

"We're aiming at a green revolution to treble food security in five years," said Mr Annan who launched the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) this year.

Mr Annan said that everyone needed to work together to ensure success.

"Seventy percent of the population in Africa lives on farming. We believe that agriculture can be an engine for development," he said.

Agra aims to get government to work with small-scale farmers in order to increase food production in those countries where there is not enough to feed the entire population.

The president of AGRA, Namanga Ngongi, said that seed quality, soil fertility and the marketing of produce had to be improved in order to promote farming as agriculture has been declining in Africa.

The EU and Africa are already working together on other projects to improve infrastructures across the southern continent.

This includes the hydroelectric plant in Felou, Mali which is to help increase energy supplies to Mali, Mauritiana and Senegal.

The ACP-EC (Africa, Caribbean, Pacific - European Commission) Energy Facility will finance some 80 projects in 2007 for a total of 220 million euros.

This will lead to 28 rural villages in Cameroon gaining access to electricity, a small power plant in Kenya and a solar power plant in Mauritiana.

In addition to these projects, the energy facility already provides a 10 million euros support to the four power pools of sub-Saharan Africa and replenishment of the facility under the 10th European Development Fund is being considered as an EU contribution under the Energy Partnership. - BuaNews

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