By: Mohamed Jalloh
His excellency president Julius maada Bio has on Monday 23rd October 2023 engaged stakeholders on the occasion of the launch of the national dialogue on “developing a just and inclusive energy transition plan for sierra leone in the context of climate resilience and sustainable food systems” in Freetown.
President Bio said his government and partners are fully engaging in Sierra Leone’s first national Climate Resilience and Energy Transition Dialogue.
He stated that given the importance of energy for sustainable economic development, Sierra Leone must develop and support a just transition to clean energy systems that can drive socio-economic benefits, social inclusivity, and empowerment.
The president did not mince the fact; he stated that “Our nation’s low access to modern energy undermines its development goals and ability to build climate resilience”.
But went on to note that he is delighted to see many important players in the energy and agriculture sectors ─ representing the public sector, private sector, developing partners and civil society ─ to help jointly develop the Sierra Leone Just Energy Transition Plan and the Climate Resilient Agricultural and Food Systems Strategy.
According to the president, this inaugural dialogue builds on proactive participation at the Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, and the United Nations Climate Week on the sidelines of the UNGA78 in New York.
Sierra Leone, as with other developing nations, is exceptionally vulnerable to climate variability and climate change, which affect citizens and make adaptation efforts more pressing as rapid changes in weather patterns erode the productivity of local water and food systems and generate unintended consequences for sustainable development.
It is therefore agreed that moves toward lowcarbon sources of energy to reduce global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are of paramount importance. Still, they must be compatible with achieving Sierra Leone’s development aspirations and meeting the unmet energy needs of 8.4 million Sierra Leoneans.
“Though we have made progress with 36% of our population having access to electricity and established about 100 mini-grids across the country, there is no gainsaying that we must make concerted efforts to reduce energy poverty in Sierra Leone to drive our aspirations for industrialization, wealth creation, and the achievement of our BIG FIVE Game Changers”, he explains.
“My Government’s long-term vision is to position Sierra Leone as an agricultural powerhouse and a regional hub for energy. We aim to achieve this by mobilizing investments for one gigawatt (1GW) energy generation capacity over the next 10-15 years for local consumption and export in the sub-region”, he stated.
According to president Bio, it is believed that this will spur transformative growth in advanced manufacturing and agricultural production, leading to thousands of quality jobs, growing our economy and fulfilling our climate action goals.
To accomplish these targets, my Government is committed to developing policies and programmes to achieve climate resilience and a just energy transition that is inclusive, “leaving no one behind”.
This Just and Inclusive Energy Transition Plan requires close consideration of the equity implications and challenges associated with prevailing energy poverty, low energy consumption and energy needs for economic growth and transformation.
In the medium term, he noted that his government is committed to comprehensive energy sector reforms to provide the enabling environment to achieve at least 300 megawatts of new generation capacity by 2028, including a significant share of renewable energy to help us build a climate-resilient and integrated sustainable energy sector.
He plainly stated that Sierra Leone must unlock its huge renewable energy potential and combine this with conventional energy to light up and power our homes and businesses.
“We must also address the challenges of transmission and distribution bottlenecks and the urgently needed reform of EDSA to improve energy supply and access. Our ambitions arise from challenges but are equally fueled by opportunities, such as our abundant natural resources, an enviable demographic profile, and low carbon footprint. We strive for a net-negative carbon footprint, using renewable energy to invigorate 12 12 our agricultural systems, energise our rural areas, and create gainful employment”, he discloses.
To achieve this ambitious agenda, the president stated that Sierra Leone must seek partnerships with other countries, bilateral and multi-lateral institutions and the Private Sector, indicating further that the affirmative response to government`s invitation on such short notice affirms the commitment to shared objectives.
