Africa Practice (AP) and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), a global nonprofit organisation tackling climate change, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to work together to address climate challenges and promote sustainable energy solutions across Africa.
The partnership was announced by director at Africa Practice, Richard Kiplagat at the Global Africa Hydrogen Summit taking place in Windhoek, Namibia.
The MoU aims to support a successful energy transition in Africa by accelerating the reduction of methane emissions from the oil and gas sector, while ensuring that new green hydrogen projects achieve their potential as climate solutions.
The MoU outlined that “the partnership will focus on disseminating EDF’s research findings to local audiences, promoting more informed debate on critical issues such as hydrogen development and methane reduction.
“Africa Practice will work to share African perspectives with global policymakers, ensuring that international climate initiatives are better adapted to local contexts and dynamics.
“A joint advocacy strategy will be developed to address methane abatement opportunities in Africa’s oil and gas sector, including efforts to secure additional signatories to the Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter. Also, the partnership will convene key stakeholders to advance conversations on methane abatement opportunities across the continent.”
According to the International Energy Agency Methane Tracker for 2024, the aggregate methane emissions from Africa’s Oil & Gas sector were approximately 9,200 kilotons in 2023; this equates to 67 per cent of all energy sector methane emissions for the region. Methane poses severe health risks as high-emitting companies and processes pollute the air, often in areas where marginalised communities live and work.
The senior vice president, Energy Transition of the Environmental Defense Fund, Mark Brownstein said that “this partnership builds on the Environmental Defense Fund’s long history of effective collaboration globally and locally and commitment to turn science into action to stabilise the climate.
“We look forward to working with Africa Practice to help put sound science at the heart of Africa’s energy and climate policy discourse and to focus on two immediate action areas: cutting climate-warming methane emissions from Africa’s oil and gas sector and getting its emerging hydrogen systems right.”
Managing director of East Africa and group chief commercial officer at Africa Practice, Richard Kiplagat stated that “this MoU with the Environmental Defense Fund marks a significant step in our commitment to driving sustainable development in Africa. Green hydrogen is poised to be a significant catalyst for Africa’s sustainable development.”
He noted that this clean energy carrier offers immense potential to transform Africa’s energy landscape, drive economic growth, and contribute significantly to global decarbonisation efforts, saying that “by combining our local expertise with EDF’s global experience, we are in a unique position to make a real impact on climate policy and action across the continent.”
The announcement of this MoU at the Global Africa Hydrogen Summit underscores the growing importance of collaborative efforts in addressing climate challenges and shaping the future of clean energy in Africa.