Germany signs roadmap to support Kenya’s complete shift to renewable energy

Kenya and Germany have signed a roadmap for a climate and development partnership that will see the East African country increase its share of renewables in the power system to 100 percent by 2030, the German development cooperation ministry (BMZ) announced. Kenya already is a leading country when it comes to using renewable power, with 90 percent of its total production coming from regenerative sources (mainly hydro, geothermal and wind power). The roadmap was signed during the COP 27 summit in Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt and presided over by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Kenyan president William Ruto. Due to its expected economic growth, the African nation would face a growing demand for electricity to power electric vehicles and possibly also to produce green hydrogen, for example to sustain a fertiliser industry without using natural gas, the ministry stated. At the same time, Kenya’s government would work towards ambitious afforestation and aim to plant trees on 30 percent of its land area by the end of the decade. “Kenya can play a pioneering role in the whole of Africa and beyond,” Germany’s development minister, Svenja Schulze, said. If the country succeeds in generating 100 percent of its electricity from renewable energies, “that would be a signal that would also encourage others,” she argued. Schulze said Germany wanted to support this and also assist the African country in its efforts to adapt to climate change effects. ”Kenya is massively affected by the climate crisis, with serious consequences for agriculture and the food situation,” the minister pointed out.

Kenya and the entire Horn of Africa region are facing one of the most severe droughts in decades, with an estimated 4 million people facing hunger due to livestock dying off in the harsh conditions. Germany provided 5.34 billion euros in budget funding in 2021 in its climate finance scheme for developing countries. “The priority of the German development cooperation is to support the transition of African energy systems with demand-based renewable energies and improved energy efficiency in line with the goals of the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Climate Agreement,” a spokesperson for the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development said.