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Organized by non-profit organization World Portuguese Network: Portuguese Diaspora Council, this year’s EuraAfrican Forum runs under the theme “Empowering EU-Africa Alliance in Times of Disruption.” Now in its 5th edition, the annual summit aims to foster stronger collaboration between Europe and Africa for a green and inclusive growth through uncovering new business and social impact investment opportunities.
Notable speakers will include H.E. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, President of the Portuguese Republic; H.E. José Maria Neves, President of the Republic of Cabo Verde; H.E. Carlos Vila Nova, President of São Tomé and Príncipe; António Costa (https://bit.ly/3IZAExw), Prime Minister of Portugal; Benedict Okechukwu Oramah, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Afreximbank; and Celso Ismael Correia, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Mozambique; among other notable African and European dignitaries and ministers.
With factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia-Ukraine tension, climate change and the energy transition disrupting both Europe and Africa’s energy sectors, the Summit will discuss investment, digital and policy solutions to these challenges.
The participation of Ayuk at the EuraAfrican Forum will be critical in shaping the discussion around how increased cooperation between Africa and Europe can help the two blocs ensure energy security while addressing the looming climate crisis and energy transition challenges. Moreover, the Forum will enable African markets to make a case for the development of and investment into the African energy sector, ahead of the upcoming African Energy Week 2022 in Cape Town and COP 27 in Egypt.
In a panel discussion entitled: Energy transition, climate change and digital transformation, he will shed light on the role of African oil and gas in accelerating the continent’s diversification of the energy mix for socioeconomic benefits while considering environmental sustainability and energy decarbonization.
With the international community calling for Africa to abort the exploitation of its estimated 125.3 billion barrels of crude oil and 620 trillion cubic feet of gas, while 600 million people across the continent are living in energy poverty and 900 million without access to clean cooking, Ayuk will discuss the pivotal role of improved Africa-EU energy cooperation to ensure a sustainable and maximal production and exploitation of hydrocarbons to drive the continent’s electrification efforts.
He will also dive into how modern and clean technologies such as carbon capture, storage and utilization can enable Africa to optimize the environmental sustainability of its hydrocarbons sector. While the growth of Africa’s oil and gas sector is being negatively affected by global energy transition-related policies which are restraining foreign direct investments from flowing into the market regions including Europe, Asia and North America, which account for the majority of global emissions, continue to optimize hydrocarbons markets to power their economies. In this regard, the AEC Chairman will share insights on the role of European expertise, technologies and investments in enabling Africa to deliver a just and inclusive energy transition that will drive economic growth and social justice.
While European companies and governments including TotalEnergies, bp, Shell and Technip Energies continue to play a critical role in boosting Africa’s hydrocarbons market potential, more needs to be done to fast-track projects development and to accelerate infrastructure rollout across the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors to enable Africa to gain energy independence whilst also maximizing monetization and trading with Europe. In this regard, with the energy crisis in Europe expanding, Africa is well positioned to help the bloc meet its energy demands – evidenced by the continent becoming Europe’s second gas supplier over the past decade – with improved aid from European parties to fast-forward the development of projects such as the Trans-Sahara Gas Pipeline, Nigeria’s Train 7, and a wide range of upstream developments including Mozambique’s Coral South Liquefied Natural Gas, Namibia’s Venus and Graff discoveries, and Mauritania and Senegal’s BirAllah and the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim.
During the EuraAfrican Forum 2022, Ayuk will share his perspective on how Africa and Europe can enhance cooperation on energy and take advantage of energy transition-related opportunities including green hydrogen development and trading to address energy reliability, affordability and access issues. In addition to topics such as energy poverty, a just energy transition and climate change, Ayuk will discuss the need for increased exploitation of hydrocarbons to mitigate shocks on African and European economies resulting from global geopolitical trends.
