Yesterday (7/8/2023), on behalf of Uganda Coalition for Sustainable Development participated in a media briefing on ‘Transition to Energy Saving Solutions (TESS)’, a three-day expo scheduled to take place 28 -30 September 2023. This upcoming event is organised by Joint Energy and Environment Projects (JEEP), who sum it as a ,’convergence for energy talk, moment to experience energy in action, as an occasion to make energy choices for homes and business and an opportunity to advocate for sustainable energy for environmental protection and climate change adaptation’
TESS comes at a time when #Uganda is struggling with an unsustainable #biomass use whose fast growing population, with over 90% demanding fuel wood to cook, is a threaten to landscapes and biodiversity across the country (having lost almost 50% of the forest cover since 1990).
The over-reliance on biomass as a main form of energy for cooking comes with environmental degradation and its concomitant impacts related to health, gender and household expenditure (GIZ, 2014). According to the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), 2.6% of Uganda’s #forests are cut down annually for #firewood, #charcoal, #agriculture, and to make way for population growth. If this trend persists, Uganda will lose all its forest cover in less than 25 years (NEMA, 2020).
The recent Executive order that bans logging for commercial charcoal production Northern and North Eastern Uganda, responding to the above threat has brought to the fore a future scenario that Uganda needs to plan for in terms of tangible options and alternatives to charcoal, firewood and other biomass as the main energy sources.
In this media brief, I emphasized the importance of providing choices amidst these challenges, where the price of charcoal has doubled in Kampala as a result of the above ban. I also noted that tried and tested local solutions (for example the 80+ local solutions documented in the Catalogue of Local Sustainable Solutions-East Africa, 2023 that are available online) should be scaled up without further delay, as an immediate response to get people to switch to energy efficient modes, but also alternatives
TESS will therefore be a timely moment for individuals, households, businesses, policy and decision-makers to listen, reflect and act on the future of the country’s energy and energy 'mix' – towards 100%
#renewables and #cleancooking for the majority.
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