Accra, Women must be offered the opportunity to participate fully in the realisation of Ghana’s Energy Transition agenda, a move from fossil-based energy to renewables or zero-carbon energy by 2050. Mrs Angelina Ama Tutuah Mensah, the Director in charge of Corporate Communication at Ghana’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in an engagement with the Ghana News Agency, proposed that females be featured prominently in the energy transition discussions, policy development and implementation.
From a policy perspective, Mrs Mensah said one of the ways to ensure active participation of women in the transition was to establish a Legislative Instrument that would secure a quota for women in the renewable energy sector to build the capacities of female workers, and to ensure an inclusive work environment.
She explained that energy transition, aligned with global climate ambition, which was projected to result in job losses, would equally present opportunities in the renewable energy sector hence the need for a comprehensive plan that would prioritise females to enable them to take up opportunities in that space.
“The fossil fuel sector is dominated by men. Female participation is limited and the transition is likely to make them jobless, hence the country must be able to address this through policy and implementation so they are not worse off,” she said.
Already, a joint study by International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and International Labour Organisation indicates that the renewable energy sector could account for 38 million jobs by 2030 and 43 million by 2050, double the number under current policies and pledges.
As is the case today, solar will make up the largest share of renewable energy jobs in 2050, with 19.9 million jobs, followed by bioenergy (13.7 million), wind (5.5 million) and hydropower (3.7 million).
On the African continent, energy transition could generate 26 million more economy-wide jobs by 2050 than is anticipated under business as usual scenario plans, IRENA in collaboration with the African Development Bank analysis has projected.
Mrs Mensah, who is the first African Woman to be nominated on the Katowice Committee of Experts on Impacts of implementation of Response Measures, urged the leadership of the energy transition to reach out to women in the rural areas to solicit their views to ensure a nationally-inclusive transition plan.
The consultations, she said, should answer questions related to the kind of work in the future, production and services, socialisation and re-localisation of work, for basic social protections, for work that would benefit people and communities and protect the planet.
“The debate on energy transition allows us to rethink the kind of economic system we want, and the challenges that we must overcome to make it a reality,” she said.
She said the National Energy Plan could define criteria for existing projects and businesses that could be characterised as exemplary of Gender Just Solutions.
“Gender Just Solutions are bottom-up, and can be mitigation and/or adaptation initiatives that are efficient, decentralised, safe, appropriate, affordable, sustainable, replicable, interlinked to peace building, promote equal access to benefits, do not burden women, entail multiple benefits, and center local decision making and the role of women within it,” she said.
Mrs Mensah, who is also a Negotiator on Response Measures, Gender and Climate Change to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, recommended that reference should be made to the Green Climate Fund and the Climate Technology Center and Network, which had the overall principles regarding gender-responsive finance and technology.
It is under those policy frameworks that dialogue and action on gender just transitions must be undertaken and called for, though more detailed and clear policy directives on the matter were also needed.
She stated that there should be a targeted education and training that would play a key role in addressing disparities and promoting inclusion.
“Early exposure to renewable-energy-related topics and careers through school curricula is vital to inspire young people of all backgrounds to pursue education, training and a career in the sector,” she noted.
“This requires adequately integrating renewable energy into national curriculum frameworks, as well as training for teachers and career advisors. Other important measures for diversifying the talent pipeline include scholarships and funded training opportunities, mentorship schemes and targeted apprenticeship programmes,” she added.
Source: Ghana News Agency
