Q: The EU will support Botswana with €5.5 million to go towards green transition. Please elaborate on how the funds are to be utilised.
A: The amount of €5.5 million will be used by the European Union to support Botswana’s energy transition to achieve a cleaner electricity mix.
We are ready to help the government attain and if possible exceed its target of generating more than 30 percent of electricity from renewable sources by 2030, mainly from solar power.
Q: Please explain how the EU will support Botswana to achieve a balanced energy mix between renewables and non-renewables.
A: We will be providing international technical assistance to BERA (the regulator), Botswana Power Corporation (BPC), the Department of Energy, and other institutions to enhance the regulatory environment and strengthen their capacities to boost energy efficiency and renewable energy generation by working with independent power producers, among others.
Q: Botswana has abundant coal reserves and continues to attract investments in this sub-sector. What is the EU’s position on fossil fuels?
A: The EU’s position, as agreed at COP28 by 133 states, is that we must accelerate the global transition away from fossil fuel, and this includes a phase-down of unabated coal power.
The opening of new coal-fired power plants is incompatible with efforts to limit global warming to 1.5°C.
Overcoming the challenge of climate change is a global issue and an existential threat to us all.
The European Union has committed to deliver a European Green Deal at home, as we have the ambition to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050.
In our external action with partner countries, we have committed to devote at least 30 percent of our main funding instrument – Global Europe – to climate-related activities because we know that the needs are huge.
Every year, the world is seeing more and more deadly heat waves, storms, and floods, as extreme weather events are becoming the new normal.
This is caused by the accumulation of greenhouse gases, including emissions from burning coal.
The climate crisis is one of the most life-threatening crises we face collectively.
In the EU we have seen increasing floods, droughts, and wildfires.
At this moment, Southern Africa, including Botswana, is facing the highest average temperatures since the 1960s as a historic El Niño-induced drought negatively impacts an estimated 58 million people, pushing many to the brink of hunger, as the leaders of the region recently pointed out during an extraordinary SADC Summit on El Niño.
The EU’s position, as agreed by all countries at COP28, is that we must accelerate the global transition by investing in renewable energy at home and abroad.
Last but not least, the benefits of expanding clean energy in Botswana and SADC would be massive.
By speeding up the transition to solar and wind power, energy sector jobs in Africa as a whole could double in a few years.
Moreover, Africa could produce enough clean energy not only to power the continent but also to export abroad.
In short, climate action has the potential to become the main driver of Africa’s growth.
Q: Would the EU be keen to support any investments in the non-renewable business in Botswana?
A: It is clear to the EU that energy is the sector that needs the most investments for the future.
At the international level, there is currently a gap in the financing of renewable energy and this is the reason we focus on investments in renewables.
For instance, the European Investment Bank has stopped supporting traditional fossil fuel investments and is committed to increasing financing for climate change adaptation.
As the European Union, we now have a €150 billion investment plan to work with Africa under the Global Gateway Initiative.
In the SADC region, the Global Gateway already supports investments in hydropower plants in the DRC and Tanzania, and green hydrogen in Namibia.
We have committed €1 billion to the Initiative on Climate Adaptation and Resilience in Africa, which we announced at COP27.
The EU is committed to supporting Botswana’s efforts to develop its renewable-energy industry, which holds the promise of thousands of new jobs for its talented young women and men.
Botswana has world-beating conditions to produce solar energy, which is a cheaper way to generate electricity and could thus become a clean-energy exporting powerhouse.
This would also help Botswana attract new investments from companies that are seeking to become carbon neutral in the near future, which is a global trend.
Q: Does the EU often have discussions with the government of Botswana regarding its continued investments in fossil fuels?
A: Friends speak candidly with friends, and the European Union raises its concerns on fossil fuel, be it here, at home, or at international fora such as the annual COP conferences.
Ensuring energy security, domestic energy generation, and access to affordable electricity are essential for any country, and the gradual transition to renewables is conducive to achieving these objectives.
As the EU, we are committed to support Botswana’s green transition and improved energy mix, which come with many benefits thanks to this country’s excellent conditions to produce solar energy, which is already cheaper, cleaner, more job-creating, and more attractive for doing business than fossil fuels.
Q: Besides support towards green transition, in which areas is the EU supporting Botswana?
A: Within the green sector, we are also supporting Botswana through projects focusing on transboundary water management in the Okavango, and on conservation in transfrontier areas such as the Kgalagadi Trans Frontier Park and KAZA.
On the economic front, we support Botswana to diversify its economy and create jobs, including in ecotourism and export-oriented value chains.
The EU is the main contributor to regional integration and funds various SADC programmes that benefit Botswana in trade competitiveness and facilitation, improving the investment environment and developing regional value chains.
We are also supporting digital transformation in Botswana and in the SADC region.
Q: How much has been towards this support?
A: The EU is the main contributor to regional integration in Southern Africa, and over the past three years alone, we have allocated more than €160 million to programmes for the region, many of which directly benefit Botswana.
In addition, we have a bilateral allocation for Botswana which amounts to €16 million for the 2021-2024 period.
