By: Twongirwe Ireen
Worth Noting:
- In addition, regardless of oil being a natural resource, its key to know that its harmful impacts on the vulnerable citizens and also country at large. These include, high rate of prostitution, gender-based violence, conflicts in families, land grabbing will increase, country growth imbalances, food insecurities, high level of environmental destruction, family breakdown, among others.
- All these challenges will lead to delayed transformation of our country while achieving transforming our country from a peasant country to a middle competitive country in vision 2040.
Uganda remains over dependent on hydro power grid-based electricity which restricts access to clean and affordable energy especially by the vulnerable groups including women, girls, youth, rural communities and others.
It important to note that over 90% of Ugandans especially women, girls, youth and others in Uganda still lack access to clean energy. The citizens continue to survive on biomass and other dirty energy sources. This affects and puts people especially women and youth at a disadvantage as they spend most of their useful time in the bushes collecting firewood and charcoal. They also spend time in the kitchen cooking amidst smoke with all its health hazards. More so, lack of clean energy access has worsened environmental degradation through destruction of forests for biomass energy.
Moreover, amidst climate change impacts, Uganda continues to involve themselves in exploitation of oil which will worsen the destruction of environment and put the lives of her citizens in danger. The signing of Final Investment Decision (FID) has confirmed that oil exploitation will set off in 2025. Ugandans need to be ready in protecting the environment and their lives at large amidst oil curse.
Further, failure to strengthen off grid solar systems and improved investments in the renewable energy sector to diversify energy sources has continued to provide justification and or used by the government as an excuse to resort to oil and other dirty energy sources. Oil and other fossil fuels remain the single biggest cause of climate change and a threat to environmental, human and land rights in Uganda.
In addition, regardless of oil being a natural resource, its key to know that its harmful impacts on the vulnerable citizens and also country at large. These include, high rate of prostitution, gender-based violence, conflicts in families, land grabbing will increase, country growth imbalances, food insecurities, high level of environmental destruction, family break down, among others. All these challenges will lead to delayed transformation of our country while achieving transforming our country from a peasant country to a middle competitive country in vision 2040.
Despite the above challenges, investing in off grid solar will be a solution to climate change because vulnerable women will be able to access cheap and flexible electricity for both cooking and other domestic use. This will reduce on the level of deforestation hence mitigating climate change impacts. It will also improve on the well being of women since they will be free from smoke while cooking using gas, biomass other than charcoal stove or firewood.
In conclusion, I therefore call upon government to invest in renewable clean energy access as opposed to oil and other dirty energy sources. I also encourage Women and youth since they remain the majority of our population to spear head a just transition by building massive pressure on policy makers and stop oil dangers in the country and push for clean renewable energy as an alternative.
More so, government through ministry of energy and mineral development and other relevant stakeholders should formulate and implement solar energy policy so that citizen can be able to access cheap power. There is also need to reduce on the taxes imposed on the solar equipment so that vulnerable citizens be able to purchase them.
A just transition to clean energy will mitigate climate change impacts.
For God and my country,
Twongirwe Ireen
Executive Director, Women for Green economy Movement Uganda. (WoGEM)
