At the end of a meeting held in Brussels on Wednesday 5 March, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the President of the World Bank Group (WBG), Ajay Banga, announced the coordination of two initiatives developed by their respective institutions with the common aim of improving energy connectivity in Africa.
In concrete terms, the financial commitments raised by the ‘Scaling Up Renewables in Africa’ campaign, launched jointly by the European Commission and South Africa last November (see EUROPE 13526/3), will contribute to the WBG and African Development Bank’s ‘Mission 300’ initiative, which aims to provide access to electricity for 300 million people in sub-Saharan Africa by 2030.
“By aligning with the European Commission’s (...) initiative, we are strengthening our collective push to expand energy access, attract investment, and drive lasting economic progress”, Mr Banga said in a statement.
The campaign will culminate in the G20 summit to be held in South Africa in November. It is being carried out in partnership with the international rights organisation Global Citizen, and has the political backing of the International Energy Agency. (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit)