Dubai — The President of the Republic, João Lourenço, on Saturday in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, highlighted Angola's commitment to renewable energies, which represents one of the main pillars of adaptation to climate change, and is a decisive step in the process of energy transition.
According to the Head of State, who was speaking at the COP 28 World Summit on Climate Action, Angola is very firm and committed to all issues relating to climate change, which is reflected in the National Strategy for Climate Change 2022 - 2035, which includes initiatives and visions in line with the African Union's Agenda 2063 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
"One of the central priorities in all the sustainable development programmes and strategies that we have outlined in the Republic of Angola is the issue of climate change, which we consider to be a critical concern, and therefore deserves special attention, always with the aim of strengthening our resilience to the effects of these changes, which have already hit the Angolan people very hard in their daily lives, due to the risk of destruction of the ecosystems of different species in some regions of our country," he said.
João Lourenço highlighted the special relevance of the event and said that the country is determined to change the national energy matrix, favouring clean energy production sources with the construction of hydroelectric plants and photovoltaic parks, which mean that more than 65% of the current 6,400 MW of energy produced in the country already comes from sources that are ecologically recommended because they are environmentally friendly.
He referred to the ongoing programme to extend the national energy transmission network from the main sources of production located in the lower Kwanza basin to the provinces in the east and south of the country.
The President of the Republic said that his ambition for the next four years was to discontinue the use of the thermal power stations that still supply some parts of the country, which will represent not only a major financial saving, but also a major environmental benefit with a significant reduction in the burning of fossil fuels to generate electricity.
He emphasised that Angola is building and expanding old hydroelectric dams, which have given the country a significant increase in its electricity production capacity and generated a surplus that can meet the needs of the SADC countries, especially with the conclusion of the Caculo Cabaça hydroelectric plant and the start of work on the Baynes binational hydroelectric dam project on the Cunene River, for Angola and Namibia.
"In the context of these efforts, we have made to significantly increase our renewable energy production capacity", the President said.
He explained that a very special attention has been paid to the implementation of photovoltaic projects in some areas of the country, resulting in a huge reduction in annual diesel consumption and, consequently, a contribution to mitigating the effects of pollution and meeting the electricity needs of the populations of those locations.
João Lourenço also informed that Angola has a project to produce green hydrogen and its derivatives, due to start next year, while work is being done on projects to reduce carbon dioxide and methane gas emissions in the oil industry as "our contribution to the fight against the increase in global temperature, which has increasingly affected our planet".
The Head off State highlighted that as part of the wide-ranging measures that the Angolan government has been taking to perfect all the mechanisms within its reach, with the aim of playing an important role in the context of global efforts to preserve the environment, Angola's National Space Strategy includes the initiative that consists of observing the Earth via the satellite that is being negotiated with the European consortium AIRBUS, for the detection and mapping of oil spills at sea.
Likewise, the provision of data on deforestation and areas of illegal logging, the monitoring of wildlife herds in the main national parks and environmental reserves, the monitoring of compliance with environmental standards in mining activities, as well as a technological solution to support the monitoring of compliance with the indicators of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
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He pointed out that Angola submitted its first national contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2015, and that it remains equally determined to achieve a 35 per cent reduction in gas emissions by 2030, if the necessary funding can be secured.
The President of the Republic considered it important that this COP28 should define a roadmap setting out the steps to be taken, so that the commitments made at the Glasgow COP can be honoured, where the objective of doubling funding for adaptation measures by 2025 was set.
"On the sidelines of this climate summit, Angola will join the initiatives of the United Nations and other specialised international organisations on the decarbonisation of the oil and gas industry and on the need to measure and reduce emissions of polluting gases such as carbon dioxide and methane gas, with ambitious targets as part of humanity's battle against climate change," said the Head of State.VC/DAN/DOJ
