Which kind of energy transition for the Congo?
Today, environmental and sustainable development issues have taken on a global character, making it urgent to respond not on the scale of a single country or continent, but on a planetary scale to avoid a major ecological crisis affecting the whole planet. Hence the need for an energy transition. For the Congo, this new global political order is an opportunity to accelerate economic and social development, in particular by creating economic activities that are horizontally and vertically integrated into dynamic local and international value chains, enabling Congolese people to offer higher value-added services that are respectful of the environment. The energy transition is an invitation to take into consideration the worsening ecological crises. The process of designing a transition plan require answering three fundamental questions as follows: - why is today's world no longer desirable? - which kind of world do we want to live in? - how do we move from the existing world to the desired one?
In practice, energy transition as a concept generates varied, opposing and even irreconcilable transition models. For countries that emit more carbon dioxide than they absorb (the polluting countries), this means building less energy-intensive economies and developing renewable energies. One of the obstacles in moving towards a low-carbon economy remains financing. Indeed, the types of infrastructures to be built, the new businesses to be set up, their pace, the time horizon for their completion, etc., rely heavily on long-term financing. They play an important role in the energy ecosystem. The energy transition is an economically, politically and socially unprecedented project. Yet the transition from a world totally dominated and shaped by fossil fuels (today's world) to one based exclusively on clean energies (the desired world) represents a considerable challenge. Despite scientific progress, it is not possible to have a precise idea of the infrastructures, technologies and investments required to implement the energy transition. Three main levers will be used to achieve this transition; they are : - energy efficiency; - decarbonization of energy production and consumption; - emissions reduction through the use of lower-emission technologies. Renewable energy sources, combined with constant improvements in energy efficiency, are the most practical and rapidly available solution. To achieve such an objective, the pace and scale of investment in clean energies must be stepped up without delay. However, clean energy technologies alone will not achieve sufficient decarbonization. The forecoming energy system should be made of three interdependent factors: - renewable energies; - continuous improvements in energy efficiency; - increased electrification of end-use sectors. The cost equation is also important, as affordable renewables enable faster and more cost-effective replacement of "dirty"fossil fuels. Access to electricity and security of supply remain central objectives. A new policy dimension lies in taking into account the climate challenge and CO2 emissions, while preserving social and economic development. In the Congo, as in the other countries of sub-Saharan Africa, energy transition should be part of a strategy to broaden access to clean energy without compromising sustainable economic development. The debate surrounding transition obscures fundamental issues such as social, environmental, economic and sustainability issues. These factors are intimately linked when it comes to energy issues, particularly in newly industrialized countries. Energy transition calls for a systemic approach. It affects all economic and social activities. It therefore implies the identification of the main components of an energy transition ecosystem. Demanding a too "hard transition" to countries with negative net CO2 emissions is to promise them fire, blood and tears, when their responsibility for global climate change is low. This demand by the "climate activists" and some international organizations are likely to put all the players in the energy transition (public authorities, economic operators and the general public) in a defensive or even oppositional posture that could compromise any rapid dynamic of transformation, which would be counterproductive. Congo's contribution to global GHG emissions is marginal. Nevertheless, the country is concerned by climate change. To avoid worsening the impact of this phenomenon on its economy, like all the other countries on the planet, the Congo must solve two problems simultaneously by fighting the phenomenon on two fronts at once: mitigation and adaptation. Mitigation concerns the measures needed to tackle the underlying problem by curbing or halting the increase in fossil fuel emissions, which risks causing an irreversible and catastrophic rise in global temperatures. Adaptation is essential to help populations and governments overcome and minimize the consequences of climate change already underway. This is the reason why the energy transition is expected to: (i) be compatible with sustainable development, i.e. development that is socially just, economically efficient and sustainable, and environmentally sound; (ii) rely on research to develop new sectors, new skills and new trades, and to support disincentive sectors with high CO2 emissions; (iii) guarantee clean, accessible, available, affordable energy supplied without discrimination; (iv) promote a sober and efficient energy consumption pattern that rethinks individual and collective uses; (v) be able to strike a balance between, on the one hand, fossil energies whose resources are not only available but also have very significant social and economic impacts and, on the other hand, renewable energies which have great potential but require the mobilization of very substantial resources for their development. Likewise, particular attention must be paid to issues linked to societal reforms in general, and to the technological intensity that will require the overhaul of our education system. This can only be achieved with the commitment of all the country's driving forces. Leaders and public authorities (state and sub-state) must be mobilized to put in place sectoral policies that are in line with the strategic objectives of energy and ecological transition, and with the capacity to support the investments that these policies require. Improving the use of fossil fuels in order to reduce their carbon footprint and improving living conditions as a result of global warming (the systematic use of air conditioners to manage heat in the home), call for in-depth reflection on the immoderate expansion of urban centers, on architecture, on the use of building materials, and so on. Land-use planning needs to include not only a thorough thinking, but above all an incentive, for the use of building materials in line with energy sobriety, all with "low-carbon" housing, i.e. housing that consumes clean energy. The guiding bill will become a major issue in the decades to come if an energy resilience model is not negotiated at grassroots level before liberalizing this strategic sector for economic and social development. The development of any energy source must be accompanied by socio-economic impact studies. Electricity must not become a luxury product, even though access to it has been proclaimed as an indicator of social progress. The energy revolution will require an in-depth reform of the congolese society. Choosing renewable energies alone will not enable the Congo to achieve its energy transition. If we are to achieve our strategic objectives in terms of energy resilience, the government needs to pay particular attention to the economic and social impact and financing of this transformation. For the Congo, energy transition is an opportunity to boost the development of a set of horizontally and vertically integrated activities in dynamic value chains, enabling Congo residents to offer higher value-added services. These different perspectives should enable Congo residents to anticipate future transformations and their impact on society. This is the only way to ensure a fair transition. Indeed, social justice is certainly a question of economics and purchasing power, but it is also a question of jobs, job quality, skills and working and living conditions. It is therefore important for the Congo to work on the link between social-economic systems and natural ecosystems, combining social justice and environmental sustainability to show that it is socially beneficial to mitigate ecological crises and ecologically beneficial to mitigate social crises. The State will also have to ensure that these far-reaching changes in terms of consumption, production, travel, work, housing and lifestyle of the Congolese people, in the final analysis, reduce the use of "dirty" energies.
| ||||||
