By Ambrose Gahene
NAKAWA
Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group (CSBAG) has partnered with Makerere University Business School (MUBS) to promote Renewable Energy generation to mitigate environmental degradation. The partnership was announced by CSBAG Executive Director, Julius Mukunda, during a Public Dialogue held at MUBS ADB Hall on Friday.
“We rely on research from academic Institutions to strengthen and advance our policies. I am glad MUBS offers Energy Economics to students which will help us push for the renewable energy campaign countrywide”, he said. He added that CSBAG is in addition committed to mentoring MUBS students in Public Financing, to prepare them for future job opportunities in private and public entities.
Mr. Mukunda recommended the use of renewable energy for cooking in the place of charcoal and firewood. He enumerated renewable energy to include; BioMass, Solar, Wind and Natural Gas. He said due to the high cost of electricity in Uganda, communities resort to the use of charcoal and firewood for cooking, which results in environmental degradation because of depleting the country of trees needed for rainfall and fresh air.
Prof. Moses Muhwezi, MUBS Principal, told participants at the dialogue that; environment protection is necessary to guarantee human and animal existence. He said climate change, where rains fall with adverse effects such as floods, is due to the depletion of forest cover that mitigates rainfall flooding.
“You cannot escape from the adverse effects of the environment when you temper with it. As students of MUBS, you have the role to preserve the environment”, he said.
He called on students to utilize environment related data from the Government to do research in science on climate change and explain these events to the world.
“Universities are hubs of positive change to the lives of humanity and not mere Institutions of learning new ideas. We have prioritized research as a way to promote renewable energy”, he added.
Mr. Magara Siragi Luyuna, the Energy and Extractive Industries Coordinator at Oxfam Uganda, said the Government should prioritize the increase of the Budget on renewable energy generation in the next Financial Year 24/2025. He said the climate change mitigation budget for Financial Year 2023/24 did not adequately address promotion of renewable energy countrywide.
“Charcoal demand is at two million tons per year, which makes it a challenge to the survival of trees needed for rainfall and fresh air we breathe”, he said.
During panel discussions, participants highlighted challenges to renewable energy to include; electric cars that do not have adequate charging facilities, high cost of electricity, limited access to renewable energy in rural and urban areas and that less than 50 percent of Ugandans use solar energy among others.
