BY PHUMELELE MKHONTA
MBABANE– Eswatini is on a roll at #COP27.
Barely three days after the country has been recognised for its NDC Investment Award at #COP27, an Eswatini-based scientist was made one of the four panellists in a discussion at the IRENA Pavilion at the climate change conference.
NDC stands for Nationally Determined Contribution.
This happened yesterday during the on-going United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – #COP27 which is held at Sharm El-Sheik in Egypt.
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) supports countries in their transition to a sustainable energy future.
Representing the country was Dr Deepa Pullanikkatil, who was one of the panellists conducting the conversations of the day.
Pullanikkatil is currently the Eswatini NDC Coordinator and is one of the delegates who travelled with His Excellency Prime Minister Cleopas Dlamini to #COP2 in Egypt.
In a brief WhatsApp conversation with this reporter, Pullanikkatil confirmed that she was one of the panellists at the IRENA Pavilion, however, referring the reporter to her an article on her LinkedIn page that she wrote on her experience.
Her comment on her experience in her page was titled ‘IRENA Side Event’.
“On day four (10 November, 2022), I participated in a panel discussion on ‘Climate Plans for Energy Resilience in Africa and Small Island States’, which was facilitated by Simon Benmarazze from IRENA. The opening remarks were given by Gauri Singh who is the Deputy Director General of IRENA. The other speakers were from Jeff Bezos Earth Fund, EnAccess Foundation and Alliance for Rural Electrification.
“The panel discussed on ways to boost energy transition and improve the resilience of energy systems in developing countries. I shared experiences from Eswatini, where extreme weather events particularly cyclones had damaged energy infrastructure including transmission lines being uprooted and electricity being disrupted as a result,” detailed Pullanikkatil.
The environmentalist went on to reveal that the award-winning project from Eswatini which was ‘Strengthening Urban Resilience in Eswatini through Climate Proofing Green Grey and Blue Infrastructure’ was an example of how the country aimed to address the challenges of climate impacts in urban areas including damages to electricity infrastructure by taking a holistic approach and utilising nature based solutions.
“Eswatini imports over 70 per cent of her electricity from South Africa and this agreement is ending in 2025. Which pathways will the country take is influenced by availability of climate finance. If low cost (concessional) climate finance is available, it is possible for the country to move into a sustainable model, as the remaining 30 per cent of the power generated in the country is through renewables using solar, hydro and biomass.
“This would be relatively easy with climate finance to move to 100 per cent renewable energy. I also spoke about the need to provide skills to youth and women for the energy transition and mentioned UNDP’s initiatives such as the Energy Academy and Youth Fellowship which is working towards that goal.”
Pullanikkatil also deliberated on reducing unemployment and allow for green skilling of emaSwati.
Proud of Eswatini, the people of Eswatini and Deepa Pullanikkatil too