Climate Parliament vows to fast-track clean energy laws for Africa

Lawmakers from the Climate Parliament Coalition have agreed to implement climate legislation in their countries to counteract the impacts of climate change.

Steve Umidha, bird story agency

A global network of legislators dedicated to fighting climate change has pledged to fast-track radical proposals designed to accelerate the globe’s energy transition through sustainable, environmentally friendly laws.

Climate Parliament consists of lawmakers from African nations and other jurisdictions. It has agreed to help implement countries’ National Determined Contributions (NDCs). Given its members’ powers to make laws, amend budgets and oversee government departments, the Climate Parliament coalition is well-placed to drive the necessary processes.

“It is time for elected Members of Parliament and Congress to get more heavily involved in global, regional, and national decision-making on the implementation of the Paris Agreement,” said Climate Parliament member and Kenyan Senator Moses Kajwang.

He also affirmed that the coalition’s members were united in their commitments. Kajwang is upbeat that his counterparts’ input, coupled with their critical role in holding governments accountable, will help to significantly hasten decision-making processes in drafting the right laws.

Other members of the Climate Parliament include business leaders, research institutions, and civil society groups.

people during a conference at the venue of COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh [Photo : Seth Onyango, bird story agency]

Speaking on the sidelines of the COP27, Climate Parliament’s Secretary-General Nicholas Dunlop said: “The Climate Parliament can become an active voice that brings perspective and links with domestic realities to the global talks.”

He added that the group could “bring an international perspective into domestic political realities in order to ensure global accountability on national climate action”.

The focus on clean energy alternatives is timely. Analysis by Statista, a market and consumer data company, found that in 2020 only 9% of all energy generated in Africa came from renewable energy sources. North Africa is the current leader on the continent in terms of renewable energy capacity – but other areas are catching up. Ghana, Kenya, and Rwanda are on track to fully tap into every renewable source available by 2030, according to the Africa Energy Outlook 2022 report by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The same report notes that several low-carbon hydrogen projects are currently being discussed in countries like Egypt, Mauritania, Morocco, Namibia, and South Africa. These are focused primarily on using renewables-based power to produce ammonia for fertilizer, which would strengthen Africa’s food security.

“Today’s global energy crisis has underscored the urgency, as well as the benefits, of an accelerated scale-up of cheaper and cleaner sources of energy,” the report reads.