The European Union will provide nearly €545 million (about $638 million) for renewable energy projects across Africa to expand electricity access, strengthen cross-border grids and accelerate the shift to clean power, the European Commission said Saturday.
Announcing the package in a video message to the Global Citizen Festival held alongside the UN General Assembly, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Africa’s energy choices will shape global outcomes. “A clean energy transition on the continent will create jobs, stability, growth, and the delivery of our global climate goals,” she said.
The Commission noted Africa’s vast solar, wind and hydro potential, even as nearly 600 million people remain without electricity. The funding will support projects in Ivory Coast, Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Ghana, the Central African Republic, Madagascar, Mozambique and Somalia.