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"When talking about Africa's energy transformation, we must first understand what it means to Africa." Youba Sokona, former vice chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), said in an interview with China Energy News, "Unlike many other countries, African countries first need to build their own energy systems and related knowledge systems, which means that Africa's energy transformation will take a certain period of time."

The latest data from the International Energy Agency (IEA) shows that although Africa will account for one-fifth of the world's total population in 2023, the region currently attracts only 3% of global energy investment. Africa has a long way to go to obtain universal energy supply, develop its own economy and achieve climate goals. In Yuba Sokona's view, the development of China's clean energy and even the entire energy industry has provided a model for African countries, and the cooperation between African countries and China will have unlimited potential.

"In the country where I used to live, many people only had electricity for five hours a day, and this phenomenon is not uncommon in Africa," Yuba Sokona told China Energy News. "Residents in many parts of Africa have no electricity available, and in some countries, even the capitals do not have a stable and reliable power supply."

IEA statistics show that as of 2023, about 600 million people in Africa will not have access to electricity, and more than 1 billion people will still use wood, charcoal, kerosene and animal dung as fuel to cook with open flames and traditional boilers.

In Yuba Sokona's view, Africa has a unique geographical environment and its own development process. Africa's energy transformation is not just about shifting from fossil fuels to clean energy. The first priority is to establish an energy system that allows people to access energy.

"In Africa, the establishment of an energy system should better meet the needs of the majority of people. The top priority for African countries is energy independence and the establishment of a basic energy supply system, and then the promotion of energy transformation based on development conditions," said Yuba Sokona.

"For African countries, they can learn from other economies to build their own energy systems," Yuba Sokona stressed. "China is a good example. Globally, the development history of clean energy industries represented by solar power generation is not long, but to date, China has achieved technological leadership in the entire clean energy industry chain, including solar cell production, component manufacturing, and system design. China's experience in renewable energy development is very worthy of reference for African countries. In this field, African countries and China have huge potential for cooperation."

The IEA report "Clean Energy Investment Development in Africa" ​​shows that Africa has abundant solar power generation resources, accounting for about 60% of the world's total, but currently, the installed capacity of solar power generation projects in Africa accounts for only 1% of the world's total. Overall, solar power generation will be the most promising clean energy in Africa.

"African countries urgently need to develop the energy industry in their local environment. They should not only develop clean energy, but also establish an energy manufacturing industrial system. In fact, the combination of solar power generation and fisheries is a good practical implementation case. For Africa, solar power generation can be combined with various production and manufacturing links to promote the development of clean energy in an integrated way." said Yuba Sokona.

According to data released by the World Meteorological Organization, in recent decades, the temperature rise in Africa has accelerated, and weather and climate-related disasters have become more serious. From 1991 to 2022, the average warming rate in Africa was 0.3 degrees Celsius per decade, slightly higher than the global average.

The challenge of climate change is imminent. In Yuba Sokona's view, Africa urgently needs to explore more cooperation opportunities and development potential.

Yuba Sokona admitted that African countries are currently facing three fundamental challenges, which are crucial to Africa's future development. "The first is energy independence, the second is food independence, and the third is industrial development. To overcome these three challenges, energy is the foundation. Without a stable and secure energy supply, Africa cannot develop its economy, let alone promote agricultural and industrial development and upgrading."

Under this circumstance, Yuba Sokona stressed that energy issues should be the top priority for African countries to cooperate with the outside world. "Chinese companies have always invested in many cooperation projects in Africa and have close cooperation with South Africa, Zambia, Kenya and other countries. Looking to the future, I hope that China can participate more in the development of Africa's energy industry."