Namibia will support the phasing out of coal in the southern African region by significantly scaling up solar and wind energy to support domestic demand, President Hage Geingob has said.
He made the remarks on Tuesday during the High Level Segment of the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change underway in Glasgow, United Kingdom.
In his statement availed to Nampa, Geingob said Namibia will work with neighbouring countries to responsibly phase out coal generation in the Southern African Power Pool and transform the region’s energy map, as this is the single most important step to keeping the Paris Agreement’s 1.5 degree Celsius target alive.
“In our support for scaling up climate finance, we call for the USD 100 billion target for climate finance needs to be surpassed as a target, with a clear roadmap on how the committed amounts will be delivered. We urge for an increased volume of grants, rather than loans, to make it possible for emerging economies carrying high debt burdens to kick-start transformative projects,” said Geingob.
He added that Namibia has amplified its 2015 pledge in the Nationally Determined Contributions.
“We now aspire to reduce our emissions by 91 per cent before the end of this decade. The estimated investment required to achieve this target is approximately USD 5.3 billion, 10 per cent of which is unconditional. These ambitions are matched by the highest levels of political commitment. The green and blue economy, including a green hydrogen industry, are cornerstones of the Second Harambee Prosperity Plan launched in March this year,” said Geingob, adding that green economy initiatives such as the Southern Corridor Development Initiative will also drive a more sustainable, post-COVID recovery.
He further added that the impacts of climate change continue to accelerate and deepen, thus Namibia is calling on other countries to show the highest levels of ambition and commitment possible.
The COP26 summit started on 31 October and ends 12 November.
The conference has taken place annually since 1995 and is, at its core, a formal negotiating session for countries to advance their climate commitments and actions.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
