Energising Africa
Africa is arguably the world's poorest continent and stands to benefit tremendously from sustainable development in the energy sector. The EU-funded project 'Renewable energy partnerships for poverty eradication and sustainable development in Africa' (Partners FOR Africa) supported the role of renewable energy and related policymaking in the continent. In particular, the project encouraged resource management, public health and development of businesses through local and global partnerships and projects. Partners FOR Africa organised a policy dialogue on sustainable energy in South Africa and Zambia, in addition to producing a policy declaration on renewable energy for African countries to combat poverty. It also established a dynamic website and information exchange platform in 2004 to foster sustainable energy, highlight related events, provide access to important archives and promote relevant links. The website contains a sizeable list of publications that discuss key topics such as biomass, gasoline blending options, biodiesel production, ethanol production, energy policy and more. In addition to the website, the project team built a database of contacts for registered users featuring local, regional and global contact partners to promote partnerships in sustainable energy. These efforts have been supplemented by the Partners FOR Africa newsletter that represented a forum of exchange for project partners and stakeholders in the alternative energy sector from around the world. Publications like the results and newsletter can serve as a basis to steer Africa towards a more sustainable future in terms of energy production as well as contribute to alleviating poverty. Thanks to initiatives such as this one, a much more sustainable future for Africa could be in the making.
