A vision for sustainable energy in Africa | TED Countdown

by Beckypublished on 31st January 2022

Africa needs new energy sources to fuel its development, but the continent should invest in renewable energy instead of cheap, polluting alternatives like coal, says climate inclusion activist Chibeze Ezekiel. He tells the story of how he worked with local communities in Ghana to halt the construction of the country’s first coal power plant — and encouraged the government to prioritize investments in renewable energy instead. “Development and clean, breathable air should not be mutually exclusive,” Ezekiel says.

Countdown is TED’s global initiative to accelerate solutions to the climate crisis. The goal: to build a better future by cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030, in the race to a zero-carbon world. Get involved at https://countdown.ted.com/sign-up

Up Next

In this episode of Studio B Unscripted, Gurinder Chadha and Skin share their experiences of growing up as second-generation immigrants and coming to terms with their identities. They discuss marginalisation, empowerment, and what pushed them to forge new creative paths in the worlds of music and cinema.
scrapyard-anoumabo
Konaté Massioudou is a scrapyard trader in Ivory Coast, whose deafness neither defines nor deters him. Konaté Massioudou repairs, rebuilds and sells some of the thousands of household items from Europe that get discarded and dumped every day in Anoumabo, a massive electronic waste scrapyard in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
sacred-woods
This award-winning documentary from Ivory Coast follows a group of young men who undergo an ancient coming-of-age ceremony in a remote West African forest.
NaimaPenniman
In this stunning spoken-word performance for TED, poet and "freedom-forging futurist" Naima Penniman celebrates the wonders of the natural world and humanity's connection to it. "I wonder if the sun debates dawn some mornings," she says.
senegal-pink-lake
The Pink Lake in Senegal attracts tourists and is a vital local resource, but there are certain environmental issues that could threaten its existence.
diggers-and-merchants
Diggers and Merchants, by filmmaker Nelson Makengo, immerses us in a life of exhausting physical labour and brutal conditions.