The African Development Bank (AfDB) is launching a clean energy investment framework that is to maximize clean energy options through renewable energy, emphasize energy efficiency, and enable African countries to participate in carbon credit markets.
AfDB’s manager of operations policies and compliance, Peter Njoh Ngomba, said the African continent has much untapped potential for clean energy.
�African countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, need to make greater use of their huge, largely untapped renewable energy potential, especially hydropower, geothermal energy, solar and wind power, and more efficient use of biomass,� Ngomba said. �The development of such energy options could be financed in part by sale of certified carbon emission credits.�
Ngomba said financing requirements are enormous. He said the bank plans to work more closely with regional member countries to create policies and institutional environments conducive to private sector investment.
AfDB said hydropower represents 45 percent of electric power generation in sub-Saharan Africa, but less than 4 percent of the subcontinent’s commercially exploitable potential has been tapped.
