STORY: Africa energy forum opens amid calls for hastening green transition
DATELINE: June 21, 2023
LENGTH: 00:03:53
LOCATION: Nairobi
CATEGORY: ENVIRONMENT

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the conference banner
2. various of the conference exhibition
3. various of Kenyan president touring the exhibition
4. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): WILLIAM RUTO, Kenyan President
5. various of the conference
6. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): DAVIS CHIRCHIR, Kenya's cabinet secretary for energy and petroleum
7. various of the exhibition

STORYLINE:

The 25th edition of the Africa Energy Forum opened in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi on Tuesday with delegates renewing the call for greater uptake of clean sources of energy in order to secure a climate-resilient future for the continent.

Kenyan President William Ruto opened the forum.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): WILLIAM RUTO, Kenyan President
"The different ways in which societies access and utilizes energies describe the contours of human productivity and inequality and also define our contribution to the worsening climate crisis. For these reasons, the world now has clarity on the right, as well as the wrong ways of sourcing energy. The question of whether we need energy at all shall never arise, because that is the mandatory fact of life. The matter of how we cater for our energy needs must therefore escalate to the highest priority of humanity's urgent existential concerns, and must continuously occupy our thinking."

Ruto stressed that fiscal incentives and innovative financing are key to tackling energy poverty in a continent where about 600 million people lack electricity connection while clean cooking energy has eluded another 900 million.

Over 3,000 delegates including ministers, heads of power utilities, regulators, multilateral lenders, and investors are attending the four-day forum.

Themed "Africa for Africa," the forum focuses on strategic themes including scaling-up renewables uptake, breaking down barriers to the green energy transition, and positioning Africa as a hydrogen powerhouse.

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): DAVIS CHIRCHIR, Kenya's cabinet secretary for energy and petroleum
"The Africa Energy Forum is a great avenue for us to showcase our achievements and highlight the tremendous potential that exists within our borders. Together we can harness the power of innovative technology and partnership to address our energy challenges and unlock the vast potential that lies within our continent."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Nairobi.
(XHTV)