Aiming at 62% of renewable energy by 2030

Speaking at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change currently underway in Glasgow on Tuesday, Prime Minister of Mozambique Carlos Agostinho do Rosário committed the country to achieving 62% of energy from renewable resources by 2030.

“It is a priority for Mozambique to implement an energy transition program based on a diversified matrix, with cleaner and more environmentally friendly sources, in line with our country’s development programs,” the prime minister said, indicating investment in hydroelectric, solar and wind power. However, transitioning away from energy based on fossil sources entails costs, and must be a phased process.

“Mozambique prefers an energy transition to cleaner and more environmentally friendly energies that is gradual and phased, in order to minimize the impact on the process of economic development in our country,” he explained.In this sense, the country intends to make the energy transition process via natural gas, even though it is considered non-environmentally friendly, a decision influenced by the discoveries of great qualities of this resource in the national territory.

“Mozambique proposes to use natural gas as a transition to cleaner energy sources,” and with that, Carlos Agostinho do Rosário guaranteed that the country will do everything to “reach, by the year 2030, the levels of 62% of the contribution of renewable energies in the national energy matrix within the scope of the Sustainable Development Goals”.

Mozambique PM at #COP26 “We are in favour of an energy transition” – but need international support to achieve it Mozambique is one of 21 countries that still have more than one planned coal plant. #NoNewCoalhttps://t.co/hWNTNMS0BU pic.twitter.com/WVQw6YegZH

— Ember (@EmberClimate) November 2, 2021

We call for the mobilisation of more resources for resilience

In comments at the climate change conference, Mozambique could not ignore the extreme events that have devastated the nation. Do Rosário reminded those present at COP-26 that “we are a country on the route of extreme weather events that are occurring in a cyclical and increasingly frequent and more intense way, such as cyclones, floods, and droughts”. 

As an example, said the prime minister, Mozambique was affected in 2019 and 2020 by five cyclones, with cyclones Idai and Kenneth the most devastating. Those cyclones caused the loss of hundreds of human lives, affected more than 800,000 people and caused enormous social and economic damage estimated at more than US$3 billion. Carlos Agostinho do Rosário concluded that “given the frequency and intensity with which extreme weather events occur in our country, our approach is focused on prevention, adaptation, mitigation, resettlement of the population facing development, building resilient infrastructure as well as water resources management, as provided for in our updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) which we launched yesterday [Monday] on the sidelines of this Summit”. For this approach to become a reality, “we call for the mobilization of more resources, the softening of the criteria for accessing them and the transfer of technology”, he said. Mozambique’s prime minister, Mr Carlos Agostinho do Rosário, in a press conference at the #LLAhub at @COP26 presenting the country’s NDCs @UNCDFLoCAL @GovernoDe #NDCs #climateaction #raisingambition #COP26 pic.twitter.com/kMCZe99HeN

— Rafael Moser (@rafamoser) November 2, 2021

The summit runs until the 12th of November, with the next 10 days set aside for technical meetings to fine-tune the details of the final Glasgow Agreement. Egypt has applied to host the COP-27, and Mozambique is supporting its candidacy.