BRD’s CEO Kampeta Pitchette spoke on Rwanda’s Readiness for reforms to tackle Climate Change
BRD CEO, Kampeta Pitchette Sayinzoga last week spoke at the Climate Finance & Energy Security Seminar held by the International Monetary Fund and The World Bank in their annual spring meetings.
It has been noted, and amplified by the recent Russian’s war on Ukraine, that as the world’s need for energy grows, and traditional resources diminish, the world needs sustainable energy solutions.
“Could the answer to funding energy solutions and securing the energy future be one and the same?” This discussion aimed to answer this question and look at how to ensure that funding gets to those who need it most, as well as the role of private financing in getting there.
Kampeta Pitchette Sayinzoga highlighted that for reasons of survival, Rwanda, given its topography, was one of the first countries to embrace environmental challenges way before it became the talk on the international stage.
She explained that “Even though it is among the least polluting countries, it is definitely among the most affected by Climate change. Therefore, countries like Rwanda are ready and have the appetite for reforms to be able to tackle Climate Change because it is at the heart of our inflation and macroeconomic problem.”
Daniel Yergin, Vice Chairman, S&P Global and author of The New Map: Energy, Climate, and the Clash of Nations, explained that the events of the last 3 years and a half have widened the gap between wealthy and poor countries in the race towards energy security.
When asked about this gap, Kampeta Pitchette Sayinzoga says, “for some countries, it is a question of substitution. Substituting fossil fuel with more sustainable sources of energy. However, for many countries like mine, it is a question of access; how to ensure that your people have access to energy”.
She continued to offer that climate finance is indispensable to close the gap.
Against all odds, Rwanda demonstrated its readiness to reform and tackle climatechange by the recent roll-out program for access to electricity in rural areas. #CanaChallenge, a crowd funding campaign that started in 2021 on Twitter, made it possible, and provided enough money to connect more than 25,000 of the poorest and most remote households to electricity.
“We will not be able to provide scalable solutions if we do not address the issues that were raised at the last cop27. We know that there are local solutions even in countries that have limited means. But are they going to be enough to bring scale and speed?” — Kampeta Pitchette Sayinzoga asked
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