Faith Actors in Africa Urged to Champion Alignment of “spiritual values with scientific solutions” Towards Clean Energy

Credit: ACI Africa

The one-day event that the Laudato Si Movement (LSM) organized alongside the December 8–12 UNEA 7 assembly focused on the theme, “Faith in Action for an Accelerated and Inclusive Renewable Energy Transition.”

Bringing together delegates from various faith groups across the African continent, the event sought to reiterate and bolster the stance of the faith groups on the need to act swiftly on the transition to clean energy in Africa.

Credit: ACI Africa

The event was built on the faith groups’ commitment that calls for an energy transition grounded in the principles of integral ecology and inclusive participation.

Other topics deliberated at the event included the implications of the COP30 outcomes for the continent's renewable energy transition, setting the stage to hold decision-makers accountable for translating COP30 commitments into tangible action during and after UNEA-7 discussions.

Credit: ACI Africa

In her December 9 keynote address, Ms Kimeu highlighted the various ways in which faith actors can play an instrumental role in ensuring clean energy is embraced in Africa.

She said that faith actors need to act as the bridge between science and local action to ensure that the transition is just, inclusive, and grounded in shared values.

Credit: ACI Africa

“There's a lot of information and misinformation,” she said, and added, "Faith actors should play that role to ensure that the scientific knowledge, like what we've been discussing in Union, really makes sense at the local level.”

Ms Kimeu said that faith actors should act as intermediaries between policymakers, scientists, and local communities on matters related to renewable energy.

Credit: ACI Africa

She also said that faith actors have a role in informing and empowering their members about renewable energy. On this, she lauded the Catholic Church for using parishes, outstations and small Christian communities to inform and empower the faithful at the grassroots.

“We are in touch with communities, and we can really ensure that communities really shape what is coming to be discussed in these meetings,” said the Senior Climate Change and Energy Advisor of the UK charity organisation.

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Credit: ACI Africa

She added, “It's our role as faith actors to really ensure that communities are aware, and we have local-to-global collaboration, whereby local communities are really enabled to participate and voice their concerns in these global conferences.”

Ms Kimeu said that faith actors also have the role of catalysing policy changes and leading by example on just energy transition, especially by adopting renewable sources of energy in places of worship.

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“It's not about the big systems, but we need to have a starting point around the small solutions that are really beneficial to the local communities, then moving up the energy ladder,” she said.

She said that faith actors should also facilitate partnerships not only in finance but also embrace investment in the just energy transition.

Credit: ACI Africa

In addition, Ms Kimeu urged faith actors to foster inclusion by ensuring that no community is left behind, especially marginalised and rural populations.

To support renewable energy in Africa, she urged faith actors to root for increased public, grant-based, and concessional finance.

Credit: ACI Africa

“We want a reformed global financial architecture that will be able to support more public finance going to renewable energy technologies, going to conservation, and also the question of financing,” she said in her December 9 address.

She noted with concern that much of the financing is being directed to the private sector rather than to faith-based sectors, thereby limiting the funds available annually to meet Africa's energy sector targets.

Credit: ACI Africa

Ms Kimeu also proposed that the subsidies for fossil fuels should be rechanneled to renewable energy.

“It's an opportunity for us to call for redirecting our subsidies that are made for, that are supporting fossil fuel industries. We need that to be championed or redirected to renewable energy. We need to call for non-debt financing mechanisms,” she said.