Dr. Liebing,
State Secretary Steinlein,
State Secretary Baake,
Excellencies,
Members of the Consular Corps,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

A very warm welcome to Hamburg! I am delighted that this year I have again been asked to join in opening the German-African Energy Forum, the major platform for German-African relations in the energy sector.

And next week, Hamburg will be hosting another important meeting on the topic of energy, when the G7” Energy Ministers meet for their conference. These meetings will be beneficial.

I am grateful to the German-African Business Association, Afrikaverein, for organizing this excellent event and I´d like to thank them for their loyalty to Hamburg as the venue. We do very much appreciate the role that these bi-lateral associations play in maintaining good trade relations between Hamburg and partner countries.

It is astonishing to see just how fast the challenges, opportunities and regulatory framework in the energy sector have changed since you held the first German-African Energy Forum.

Across the world, more money is now being invested in renewable power generation than in fossil-fuel and nuclear plants combined. Last year alone, spending on solar energy, wind power and biogas plants totalled some 250 billion euros.

At the same time, population and industrial growth, as well as increasing prosperity, are pushing up global demand for energy. Many forecasts estimate 50 per cent higher demand by the year 2030.

Africa’s economy is growing too. In much of the continent demand for energy already exceeds local generation capacity. It has been quoted that the African Union intends to achieve a seven-fold increase in power generation in its member states over the next 30 years.

It must be clear in our minds that climate-friendly growth is what it´s all about.

There is no reason this should not succeed. Africa is the continent where solar energy is really coming home more than anywhere else, and its power-generating potential is only now beginning to be tapped. Africa could satisfy its entire energy demand from renewables.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
for this reason we need to engage in the transfer of knowledge and technology in order to boost energy efficiency and the productivity of resources. We need, in Europe and Africa, opportunities for smart investments that combine economic and environmental progress. And we want ideas, bold endeavours and the brightest minds.

Hamburg can be an important partner in this venture. Because our city harbours a large store of business experience and technological skill in the energy sector. Hamburg is considered one of Europe’s major centres for renewable energy, and increasing numbers of industrial and service companies in this sector are settling in the city. We can claim to be Germany and Europe’s Wind Energy Capital”. Last year, 2014, the Wind Energy Hamburg trade fair celebrated its première in the city. More than 1,000 exhibitors from around the world attended.

185 companies, employing 25,000 people in the metropolitan region of Hamburg, belong to the Renewable Energies” cluster. Our cluster strategy is being developed in line with the renewable energies research programme of four universities in Hamburg, with added input from companies in the industry.

With the founding of the Energy Campus Bergedorf” for research into wind power, and Siemens’es management decision to locate their wind power division here, our city has taken a big step forward.

The Renewable Energies” cluster in Hamburg can develop solutions to meet demand in the city and far beyond it.

One issue addressed by the cluster is the future provision of renewables to supply the growth markets of Southern and sub-Saharan Africa. Hamburg companies that already have wind power projects in the region are Nordex and Siemens; before that, Suzlon also worked on smart city systems in the area. Future plans deal with hybrid biomass and solar power plants, as well as gas from biosolids and water purification.

In April 2013 a business and administration delegation from the South African-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry was welcomed to Hamburg; the hosts organized, first and foremost, discussions and visits to wind and biomass projects.

Since the autumn of 2014, the Hamburg cluster has been taking part in workshops held by the German Society for International Cooperation with the aim of developing cluster networks of their own for renewable energies in Middle Eastern and North African regions.

Well-functioning energy supplies are fundamental if the people of Africa are to be offered prospects for a better life. In order to produce goods, create jobs, provide clean drinking water and manage food supplies, we need energy. The crucial question will be how intelligently we produce and use energy, while ensuring growth at the same time.

I hope this German-African collaboration will be intense and full of energy, and wish you all a pleasant sojourn in Hamburg.

Thank you very much.

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