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Accelerating renewable energy development to meet universal energy access and security objectives

25 November 2020, 3:00 pm–4:30 pm

Wind turbines at sunset

UCL STEaPP is pleased to host this special panel discussion with Dr Seleshi Bekele, Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy in Ethiopia, on the acceleration of renewable energy development to meet universal energy access and security objectives in Ethiopia and East Africa, with respondent Damilola Ogunbiyi, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All.

This event is free.

Event Information

Open to

All

Availability

Yes

Cost

Free

Organiser

UCL STEaPP

It is common knowledge that Ethiopia, and much of Africa, is rich in clean energy resources. And yet the paradox is that millions of households and businesses across the region, struggle to meet their basic and day-to-day energy needs. It shows that sitting on large resources does not amount to much unless countries are able to mobilise their technical, material and financial capital to develop their resources for the benefit of their societies.

In this discussion, Dr Seleshi Bekele, Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy in Ethiopia, will provide a stocktake of what Ethiopia has been doing over the past decade in renewable energy development to drive its social and economic transformation, and what the country plans to do in the coming 10 years. Minister Bekele’s talk will also reflect on the critical challenges that countries such as Ethiopia face in meeting their objectives, especially in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This will be followed by a response from Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO of Sustainable Energy for All, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All and Co-Chair of UN-Energy on how SEforAll would make concrete contributions to supporting country efforts, as we look for inspiring ways to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Panel 

  • Chair: Professor Jo Chataway, UCL STEaPP
  • Professor Ijeoma Uchegbu, Pro-Vice Provost - Africa and The Middle East & UCL School of Pharmacy
  • Dr Seleshi Bekele, Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy in Ethiopia
  • Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO of Sustainable Energy for All, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All and Co-Chair of UN-Energy

The panel session will be followed by an open discussion.

About the Speakers

Dr Seleshi Bekele Awulachew

Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy in Ethiopia

Dr Seleshi Bekele Awulachew, Ethiopia’s Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy, has 30 years of experience in leadership, research, teaching, and advisory work in the areas water, energy, land, climate change, capacity development, and policy.  

Early in his career, Dr Bekele Awulachew was Dean and CEO of the Arba Minch University in Ethiopia, where he established graduate programs in dams and hydropower, irrigation and drainage, water resources and hydrology.  Subsequently, Dr Bekele led the regional office of the International Water Management for the Nile Basin and East Africa, then joined the United Nations System, where he first worked for the Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) as a Senior Water and Climate Change Specialist and then at the UN headquarters in New York as Interregional Advisor in the Division of Sustainable Development in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA). At the United Nations, he contributed to mainstreaming sustainable development in national development plans of the member states in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean region.

He was educated as a civil engineer at Addis Ababa University and received his master’s degree in hydraulic engineering and hydrology at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom. He holds a PhD in water resources and hydraulic engineering from Dresden University of Technology, Germany. Dr Bekele is Visiting Professor at the Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy (STEaPP) at UCL. 

Damilola Ogunbiyi

CEO of Sustainable Energy for All, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All and Co-Chair of UN-Energy

Damilola Ogunbiyi is CEO of Sustainable Energy for All, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All and Co-Chair of UN-Energy. She is also a Commissioner for the Global Commission to End Energy Poverty.

Ms Ogunbiyi was formerly the Managing Director of the Nigerian Rural Electrification Agency, where she successfully negotiated the Nigerian Electrification Project—a USD 550 million facility—to rapidly construct solar mini-grids and deploy solar home systems across Nigeria. She was also responsible for the agency’s Energizing Education Programme, which will electrify 37 universities and seven teaching hospitals in Nigeria, as well as the Energizing Economies Initiative, which provides sustainable and affordable off-grid power solutions to economic clusters.

She also worked as a Senior Special Assistant to the President on Power and Head of the Advisory Power Team in the Office of the Vice President of Nigeria.

Before joining the Federal Government of Nigeria, Ms Ogunbiyi was the first female to be appointed as the General Manager of the Lagos State Electricity Board. Under her leadership, five independent power projects were completed to deliver over 55 megawatts of power to Lagos State hospitals, schools, streetlights and the Government secretariat.

Ms Ogunbiyi entered public service as the Senior Special Assistant to the Lagos State Governor on Public-Private Partnerships. Prior to her appointment, she was a consultant for the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DfID) on public-private partnerships.