Africa Clean Energy Summit ACES2014. October 20-23. Abuja. Nigeria

The Africa Clean Energy Summit is positioned to be one of the world’s foremost annual climate solution events in Africa, dedicated to advancing green cities, 100% renewable energy, energy efficiency, massive job creation, and clean technologies in Africa. ACES will bring together decision makers, policy makers, industry leaders, investors, experts and media around the world to explore and further understand the challenges and opportunities that arise from green solutions.

ACES will include a world-class summit, International Exhibitions, Technical Conferences, Africa Climate Solution Business Sessions, Africa Clean Energy Trade & Investment Forums and concurrent activities such as the incorporation of the:

• Africa Climate Solution Centre (ACSC)
• Africa Energy Efficiency Campaign
• Africa Solarization Initiative
• Village Solar Initiative – One Community at a Time
• Institute of Clean Technology
• Integrated Solar Farms
• 100% Renewable Energy Hub
• Clean Energy Marketplace
• Energy Access Information Warehouse
• Clean Energy Ranch & Parks
• Green City
• Clean Energy transportation
• Carbon Credit Centre
• Africa Carbon Exchange(AfCX)
• Clean Energy Capacity Building Hub
• Eliminate Darkness Initiative
• Africa Green Jobs Project
• Africa’s Inter-Governmental Roundtable On Clean Energy And Zero Carbon Development
• Africa Eminent Personalities Roundtable on Sustainable Energy for All
• Africa Clean and Sustainable Energy Royal Roundtable
• Africa Women Roundtable On Clean Energy & Energy Poverty Elimination
• Africa Children & Youth Roundtable on Clean Energy And Green Lifestyle
• Africa Entertainer's Roundtable On Energy Access And Low Energy Consumption
• Africa Sportsmen & Women Roundtable on Green Lifestyle

SUSTAINABLE ENERGY FOR ALL is an initiative launched by the United Nations Secretary-General and guided by his High Level Group that brings all key actors to the table to make sustainable energy for all a reality by 2030.

Sustainable Energy for All is a global initiative that seeks to achieve three goals by 2030:

1. Universal access to electricity and safe cooking solutions; Sustainable energy powers opportunity. Yet 1.3 billion people one in five globally lack electricity to light their homes or conduct business. Twice that number nearly 40% of the world’s population rely on wood, coal, charcoal, or animal waste to cook their food breathing in toxic smoke that causes lung disease and kills nearly two million people a year, most of them women and children.
   
   Electricity enables children to study after dark. It enables water to be pumped for crops, and foods and medicines to be refrigerated. Modern fuels for cooking and heating relieve women from the time-consuming drudgery and danger of travelling long distances to gather wood.
   
   Without access to modern energy, it is not possible to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, the eight-point global agenda adopted by the United Nations in 2000 whether reducing poverty, improving women’s and children’s health, or broadening the reach of education.
2. Double the rate of improvement of energy efficiency; Investing in energy efficiency creates jobs, fosters economic growth and improves energy security for countries that lack domestic fossil fuel resources. Of the three objectives of Sustainable Energy for All, improving energy efficiency has the clearest impact on saving money, improving business results, and delivering more services for consumers better refrigerators that cost the same but use less energy; new vehicle designs that travel further on less fuel; and buildings that require less energy to heat and cool.
3. Double the share of renewable energy in the global mix; Energy from renewable resources wind, water, the sun, biomass and geothermal energy is inexhaustible and clean. The costs of technologies to capture that energy are rapidly falling and becoming economically competitive with fossil fuels, while reducing the health risks and global side effects of climate change and global warming.

Renewable energy currently constitutes 15% of the global energy mix. Achieving the Secretary-General’s objective of doubling that percentage by 2030 requires support from all sectors of society, including individuals. Renewable energy products and services constitute a rapidly growing segment of the international marketplace.

The Africa Clean Energy Summit represents an unrivaled business platform that brings together project owners and solution providers with investors and buyers from across the public and private sectors.

At ACES 2014 more than 30 eminent speakers, head of states and ministers will discuss the burning issues surrounding clean and renewable energy, which will give attendees the opportunity to meet industry colleagues and share knowledge and experiences which will further our collective goal of “Sustainable Energy for All”.

The major Action Areas address both power generation, clean energy finance and the principle sectors of energy consumption. They include but not limited to:

• Clean Cities; Smart Cities;
• The Business of Clean Energy;
• Clean, Efficient and Integrated Power Generation;
• Distributed Electricity Solutions;
• Grid/off-grid Infrastructure & Supply Efficiency;
• Large Scale Renewable Power;
• Energy Storage;
• Zero Waste; Eco-Waste;
• Expanding Energy capacity through cross border generation;
• Facilitating energy expansion through Independent Power Producers (IPP);
• Financing clean energy: A new approach;
• Industrial & Agricultural Processes;
• Modern Cooking Appliances & Fuels;
• Carbon management; Carbon Money
• Transportation; and
• Buildings & Appliances
• And Many More…

At the International Renewable Energy Conference (IREC) in Abu Dhabi, in January 2013, Over 160 countries endorsed the growth of renewable energy in a balanced global energy. In the Declaration of the Abu Dhabi International Renewable Energy Conference (ADIREC), ministers called for a doubling of the world’s share of renewable energy by 2030 under the leadership of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), capping off three days of discussions among government delegations, business leaders, NGOs, and international organizations.

ACES 2014 seeks to put Africa in a better position for this growth. It seeks to educate the people about energy solutions, the renewables, educate governments to formulate enabling policy to promote this growth and bring foreign investors to the continent. According to IRENA; Africa has vast unexploited renewable energy resources that can provide electricity for all at an affordable cost.

While the deployment of renewables already shows both established and emerging areas of success, there are barriers to implementation, many of them project-specific, which African energy ministers can address.