Princy Mthombeni: Nuclear energy is critical to Africa's agenda for sustainable development.

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Viewpoint: Nuclear energy is critical to Africa's agenda for sustainable development

Nuclear power can play a key part in addressing African energy poverty while mitigating against climate change and helping to solve the triple threats of poverty, inequality and unemployment, but policymakers, decision takers and the general public need to be educated on its benefits, says Princy Mthombeni.

Excerpt:

Having been in the nuclear energy industry for more than ten years, I came to a realisation that many people do not realise the impact of energy in our daily lives and in strengthening our economies. Therefore, policymakers and those in power end up pushing energy policies that have little to no impact on the development of the life of citizens and their country. The gap between scientists and ordinary citizens remains wide, so much so that science facts, particularly when it comes to nuclear energy, are overpowered by rhetoric. In the study done by a South African research institute, the Human Sciences Research Council, in 2013, it was reported that 42% of South Africans know little to nothing about nuclear energy while 22% are undecided on whether or not they are in favour or against it. Furthermore, the study showed that only 18% of the group is unfavourable towards nuclear energy...

... Access to quality energy remains a daunting challenge for Africa. Tighter fiscal environment only serves to exacerbate the problem for the economy of countries where there is little diversification. The African Development Bank reported that over 640 million people in Africa do not have access to energy, corresponding to an electricity access rate for African countries at just over 40%, the lowest in the world. According to research by Oxfam in its 2017 report, The energy challenge in sub-Saharan Africa: A guide for advocates and policy makers, 792 million people are forced to cook with traditional biomass on unimproved stoves. While efforts at electrification are expected to bring down the number of people who do not have access to electricity, the number of people using unimproved cooking facilities in Africa is expected to increase through 2030.

Clearly a light bulb does not constitute adequate access to energy when there are so many people that desperately need clean, affordable, reliable and equitable access to energy supply for clean water, public health and jobs. This energy crisis demands that Africa should take the opportunity to shape a better energy future for Africans. This in turn directs attention to the diversity of options emerging for progressing global net-zero carbon energy transition pathways that will benefit the most vulnerable people on the planet. Nuclear power, as a source of energy that is clean, reliable, dispatchable and baseload, is key in addressing the energy poverty on the African continent while mitigating against climate change issues...

...and so on...