24/11/2006
Andris Piebalgs, Energy Commissioner, Energy and development, Speech at the External Energy Policy Conference, Brussels, 21 November 2006

Dear Ministers,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me start with some telling facts. Today, there are still 1.6 billion human beings in the world who do not have access to electricity.

In sub-Saharan Africa, that translates concretely into less than 20% of the population having access to electricity.

No less than 2.5 billion people still use traditional biomass, even in oil-rich countries, for their cooking and heating needs; this is damaging to their health, their wider environment and their economic development[1].

These few figures speak for themselves and illustrate the importance of the need for a greater link between Energy and Development.

These figures also bear an intrinsic paradox when one realizes on one hand how much money has been transferred over 50 years of Africa-EU development cooperation, and, on the other hand, the huge potential of energy-generating power Africa disposes of. Africa should be selling energy, not buying it.

Maybe energy has not been given the right place in priority-settings so far.

Things are fortunately changing. The European Consensus on Development and the EU Strategy for Africa, both adopted last December by Heads of States, recognise the importance of energy on the development agenda.

Besides that commitment, what is important is the nature of genuine Partnership that characterises this new relationship, where ownership and equality are paramount. Now, energy is for the first time recognized as one of the few focal areas for our development cooperation under the 23 billion€-rich European Development Fund.

I plead that this window of opportunity be seized by African partners to use the possibilities it now offers to the full extent.

Also on the multilateral level, sustainable energy has moved into the mainstream of Development Policies. This process was strengthened by the launching of the EU Energy Initiative at the 2002 World Summit in Johannesburg.

We have decided to give special attention to the situation in Africa. Indeed, several developing countries have witnessed a dramatic increase in the rates of access to modern energy services, including electricity. Generally speaking, Africa has not.

Africa is also the most dependent continent on oil for primary energy consumption and transport. It thus needs to engage quickly on the path of energy diversification and efficiency.

The EU is committed to continue addressing energy and poverty in Africa, in particular of Sub-Saharan region, through a wide range of instruments:

1. In close collaboration with our African partners, we have created the Africa-Europe Partnership on Infrastructure. It will finance cross-border and regional infrastructure notably in energy, with the additional operational help of the European Investment Bank. The first batch of projects is ready for approval by the end of this year.

2. In the context of the EU Energy Initiative, the EU has also created the Energy Facility that focuses on improving access to energy. A call for proposals has just been completed. We received a large number of proposals from a wide range of stakeholders. The evaluation has started and implementation is expected to start next year.

3. Another programme is the EC COOPENER programme. This is an initiative aiming at promoting renewable energy sources and energy efficiency in developing countries, as well as sustainable energy services for poverty alleviation.

4. And of course the European Development Fund will also serve the purpose of our partnership with African nations.

Ministers, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Now, let me turn to political aspects. Energy cooperation was recently discussed at the EU-Africa Ministerial meeting in October 2006 in Brazzaville, where Ministers welcomed the ongoing work within the EU for a Strategic Energy Review. Ministers also committed themselves to strengthen the political EU-Africa dialogue on energy and called for a comprehensive Europe-Africa energy partnership that would tackle all sectors of energy. This is indeed needed.

This enhanced partnership should be a two-way process between equal partners, in which a genuine win-win situation can be achieved as we share common challenges and complementary interests.

There are many very good reasons to strengthen our dialogue and cooperation. Africa has a huge potential to become a major energy-seller, with all the immediate revenues and long-term benefits it entails.

The EU already imports almost 15% of its fuels from Africa. Africa has the second largest oil reserves in the world, after the Middle East; it also has significant reserves of natural gas and coal. But above all, it has a huge untapped potential for renewable energies. In view of the structure of the energy market in Africa, a real leapfrog is therefore possible, as it is the case in the telecom sector. No other place in the world offers better perspectives than Africa for renewable energies.

It is therefore a great paradox that Africa's important energy resources are not used to provide the expected benefit to the African people. This situation makes it difficult to achieve a sustained economic development.

Moreover, the oil prices shock has added further constraints. In fact, Africa's situation is far from being homogeneous: while some countries are oil and gas exporters, thus receiving substantial benefit in the present market situation, the majority of countries are oil importers, depending mainly on oil for the transport sector and for electricity generation.

I believe that the challenge lies here: how to use Africa's energy in an efficient and sustainable way to ensure both the development of Africa and its security of energy supply? How to define and implement a strengthened Africa-Europe energy dialogue, where energy security, transparency of markets and specific joint initiatives can be decided?

Another challenge for Africa and the whole world is the climate change. The Nairobi World climate Conference that just ended has highlighted once more the challenges and threats that we all face as climate change knows no borders.

Energy is thus an issue that will concern not only our mutual security of supply and our growth, but also the very future of our common planet. This is why it has to be dealt with urgently between responsible and equal partners. The long history and the privileged relationship that Africa and Europe share will make this possible.

I thank you for your attention to this forward-looking issue of Energy and development, which will no doubt be high on our respective agendas for the years to come, and I am sure that the most distinguished panel of leaders we have in front of us will have important contributions to make in this regard.

 

[1] IEA World Energy Outlook 2006 – 7 Nov 2006