As Namibia continues to pursue the green transition agenda, the country has cemented its position as one of the countries in the world emerging as a “clean energy superpower” at the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, commonly known as COP28.

This was said by presidential press secretary Alfredo Hengari during a media briefing on COP28 outcomes yesterday.

“That was the message of President Hage Geingob to say, we are ready. We have started the green hydrogen
journey; projects are already on the ground, and we are hopeful that this project will be a success, and the world will decarbonise and Namibia will make a contribution,” he highlighted.

The spokesperson said one of the reasons they persistently pursued the agenda was because of the sixth report of the inter-governmental panel on climate change, which listed Namibia as one of
the countries in sub-Saharan Africa severely affected by climate change.

“Climate change is affecting our agricultural productions, and ultimately compromising our food security. As a country, we are in a period of drought,” Hengari added.

He said the country also provided the nationally-determined contributions, which will cost the country US$15 billion.

“That’s a lot of money for a country that doesn’t pollute the earth, yet we are bearing the brunt,” he added. Despite that, Hengari gave the assurance that the country has set up institutions which can gear it towards the reduction of carbon emissions.

Considering the high cost the country must bear to address climate’s impact, COP28 served
as a platform to market the
country and seek partners in addressing the climate emergency. The European Commission is already on board in terms of partnerships, having pledged 1 billion Euros during deliberations that took place in Brussels in October.

During COP28, the United States of America’s government also pledged US$3 billion towards climate change mitigations.

Although these funds are not directly for Namibia, Hengari said the country can have access to some of the funds which are meant to be invested in renewables.

“We are looking at the right technology, the right policies to promote energy efficiency. We need to adapt our construction systems and so forth,” he continued.

He noted that the country didn’t announce itself as a “new kid on the block”, but as a key player in clean energy. Despite initial scepticism surrounding
the green transition “frenzy”, Geingob has on numerous occasions been singing the
green hydrogen song, and continuously assuring the
nation of the prospects of the project. During a media briefing last month, Geingob pointed to this as a key highlight of this year.

He said it is a future climate mitigation source.

“Namibia is leading; we should be proud that people are coming to us to talk about green hydrogen and oil. We are a factor, believe it or not, and we must act that way,” he enthused.

- ashikololo@nepc.com.na