Event Date:Quarta, 9 Junho, 2021 a Quarta, 15 Setembro, 2021
The economic crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly acute for nations in the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Some countries in the region were already on fragile economic grounds before the crisis hit, and the crisis has pushed many countries into recession, hardship, and has accentuated external debt distress. Before the crisis, the SADC Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (SACREEE), the SADC Development Finance Resource Center (DFRC), the University of Pretoria Centre for Human Rights (CHR), and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) collaborated on a report titled Expanding Renewable Energy for Access and Development: The Role of Development Finance Institutions in Southern Africa. The report provides a roadmap for how the SADC region could expand the use of renewable energy in a manner that increases energy access and spurs economic development.
Without creative thinking and new policy, the COVID-19 crisis, and especially the subsequent lack of ability for countries in the region to take on more external debt, could derail the prospects for a needed surge in renewable energy capacity in the SADC region. Over the next few months, these same institutions will convene a series of three virtual workshops to examine the role that development finance institutions active in SADC can play in maintaining a shift toward more renewable energy in the region amidst looming debt distress and economic downturns. Each workshop will occur from 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm Central Africa Time, 8:30 am to 10:30 am Eastern Standard Time.
The workshops will cover three key topics:
Workshop #1, June 9, 2021: COVID-19 Impact on the SADC Energy Sector. The Impact of the COVID-19 economic downturn on the renewable energy sector in SADC, hosted by SACREEE.
Workshop #2, July 14, 2021: COVID-19 Debt Distress and Renewable Energy. What is the impact of COVID-19 related external debt distress in SADC countries on the renewable energy sector, hosted by the CHR, University of Pretoria.
Workshop #3, September 15, 2021: The Role of Development Finance Institutions in Financing Renewable Energy in the COVID-19 Era. What role that development finance institutions are and can play in securing finance for renewable energy transitions in SADC in the context of external debt distress, hosted by the GDP Center and DFRC.
Each workshop will feature 3-4 speakers followed by intensive discussion among the invited participants. Following each workshop, the sponsoring organization will produce a policy brief that synthesizes the main findings and takeaways from the workshop. The three policy briefs will by synthesized into a report that will also be released to the general public in late 2021, early 2022.
Kindly note that this is a closed workshop.
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EACREEE - 15/01/2024
SACREEE - 08/01/2024
EACREEE - 15/01/2024
GN-SEC Secretariat - 03/06/2024
ECREEE - 18/05/2024
ECREEE - 25/04/2024