World Energy Council to host energy ministerial in Johannesburg

African ministers to join energy leaders to address the energy trilemma and regional integration

10 February, London and Johannesburg – The World Energy Council will be gathering African energy ministers and energy leaders at a high-level roundtable in Johannesburg on Tuesday, 17 February to discuss the way ahead for Africa’s energy future.

The Indaba Energy Leaders’ Dialogue will take place within the backdrop of the Africa Energy Indaba, the World Energy Council’s annual regional event for Africa.  At the Dialogue 35 energy leaders, from government, international governmental organisations and development banks, and the private sector, will join the Council’s leadership in closed-door discussions on how to solve Africa’s energy challenges.

The Dialogue will include the Trilemma Ministerial Roundtable, where energy ministers and leaders of governmental organisations will hold talks over widening energy access and unlocking the region’s vast untapped energy potential. On top of the agenda will be the issue of facilitating regional integration to maximise resource distribution and diversification.

Ministers and government officials from Botswana, Ethiopia, Namibia, Swaziland, Tanzania, and Uganda, have confirmed to attend the ministerial. Sector leaders from the African Union, NEPAD Agency, and the African Development Bank will also join the talks. Joan MacNaughton, Executive Chair of the Council’s World Energy Trilemma, will moderate the discussion.

“South Africa’s current power crisis illustrates that South Africa, like many other countries, is struggling to come to terms with the triple challenge of providing sustainable energy, what the World Energy Council calls the energy trilemma,” commented Christoph Frei, World Energy Council Secretary General, who will be speaking at the event.

“Energy price volatility and climate framework uncertainty are on the top of the global energy agenda as African energy leaders meet at the Energy Indaba to discuss the implications of low oil prices on gas developments and on the diversity of the energy mix in the region. The time has never been more critical to ensure smart strategies and robust policies to deal with the new normal – high energy price volatility – and I look forward to in-depth discussion on the way forward at the Indaba Energy Leaders’ Dialogue,” said Dr Frei.

According to the World Energy Council’s recently published World Energy Issues Monitor, African energy leaders are worried about the uncertain impact of energy price volatility on their future decisions. Market-distorting energy subsidies and the difficult access to capital markets are also key issues. Meanwhile, regional integration and energy poverty remain high in the agenda.

The Africa Energy Indaba, which is open for registration by all energy professionals, will put a spotlight on these and many other critical issues facing the continent.  Tina Joemat-Pettersson, South Africa’s energy minister, will open the event. Among the Indaba’s various topical sessions, for the first time it will feature a Women In Energy conference to encourage more diversity in the sector.

The Indaba Energy Leaders’ Dialogue will be hosted by Marie-José Nadeau, Chair of the World Energy Council.

The senior leaders of the World Energy Council attending the Dialogue include:

ENDS

 
For interviews with the World Energy Council’s senior leaders please contact:
Monique Tsang / tsang@worldenergy.org / +44 20 3214 0616

About the World Energy Council
The World Energy Council is the principal impartial network of leaders and practitioners promoting an affordable, stable and environmentally sensitive energy system for the greatest benefit of all.

Formed in 1923, the World Energy Council is the UN-accredited global energy body, representing the entire energy spectrum, with more than 3000 member organisations located in over 90 countries and drawn from governments, private and state corporations, academia, NGOs and energy-related stakeholders.

 

The Council informs global, regional and national energy strategies by hosting high-level events, publishing authoritative studies, and working through its extensive member network to facilitate the world’s energy policy dialogue.

www.worldenergy.org and @WECouncil

 

The Indaba Energy Leaders’ Dialogue
The Indaba Energy Leaders’ Dialogue is organised by the World Energy Council (WEC) for the global energy leaders’ community to facilitate on-going high-level dialogue on critical issues affecting the energy world. These closed community gatherings are held in countries of interest to the global energy transition.

The following ministers and government officials have been confirmed to attend the Trilemma Ministerial Roundtable in Johannesburg: