By Ambrose Gahene,
National
The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development has revealed that the Government is soon tabling the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Bill 2023. This was revealed by Ms. Ruth Nankabirwa Sentamu, during the Renewable Energy Conference and Expo at Speke Resort Munyonyo Hotel last Friday.
“We shall work with Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and Refugee Camps to promote energy programs countrywide”, she said.
The conference brought together technocrats from the oil and gas sector, National Water, the Ministry of water and environment, tertiary institutions offering courses in oil and gas and academia among others. During panel discussions, carried out in four halls with different topics of discussions, participants observed that Oil & Gas industry’s operational emissions account for more than 10 percent of global Carbon dioxide (𝐶𝑂2) emissions.
“While supporting the transition to lower-carbon alternatives, it is critical for Oil and Gas companies to also de-carbonize their operations rapidly. This is by reducing methane leaks, venting and flaring improving energy efficiency; using renewable power and carbon capture technologies,” reads the conference joint statement in part.
The statement in addition states that; Uganda emits 4.9 million tons of carbon dioxide per year, and that the transport and agriculture sectors represented 62 percent of national emissions in 2000 and are projected to represent 70 percent by 2030 under a ‘business as usual’ scenario.
“The transport sector is particularly vulnerable to potential disruptive events caused by climate change. Transport energy is a vast and costly consumer of energy, carbon emitter, and fatal polluter in the global south”, adds the statement.
On creation of Green Jobs participants at the conference observed that; achieving universal energy access relies on creating and cultivating renewable energy jobs, providing a global opportunity to drive employment and economic growth.
They highlighted the importance of innovation and technology in enabling the transition to low-carbon energy systems, through focusing on technical solutions for electricity systems, such as, battery storage, smart grids, and other technologies, and the enablers required to scale up these solutions.
Regarding the journey towards a Green Hydrogen Economy, participants focused on the potential for Africa and developing countries to become major green hydrogen producers, the related economic and job growth opportunities, and the financing gap needed in the global south to achieve this potential.
They noted that the transition from a global economy dependent on fossil fuels, to green hydrogen and renewable fuels-based economy is happening now.
“Developing green hydrogen value chains can yield economic value, create jobs and contribute to achieving global emission reduction targets. Green hydrogen and its derivatives, such as green ammonia, e-fuels will be critical to reduce the emissions of hard-to-abate and hard-to-electrify sectors such as heavy industries, aviation, and shipping or heavy road transportation,” the conference statement further points out.
