DUBAI – Three top Kenyan universities are among Africa’s most renowned varsities keen to be at the forefront of research, innovation and outreach of technologies, products, services and operating models that reduce CO2 emissions and help attain net-zero emissions.
They are among African universities supporting a UN initiative to adopt 5G Tech Spaces as Digital Climate Action efforts to cap warming at 1.5 °C, expedite the Green Network and mobilise finance at scale.
According to a statement on Wednesday by Start North, an association that serves as an accelerator network to promote the learning and application of new technologies in order to meet the challenges of global sustainable development, the University of Nairobi, the Technical University of Kenya and Kenyatta University are among high institutions of learning on the continent supporting the adoption of 5G Tech Spaces.
The 5G Tech Spaces are part of the solution to reduce emissions that enable Africa to leapfrog with clean innovation and have a fighting chance of reaching Net Zero by 2050 and capping the rise in global temperature at 1.5 °C in full attainment of the Paris Agreement.
According to 5G Connectivity: A Key Enabling Technology to Meet America’s Climate Change Goals report of January 2022, 5G-enabled use cases are projected to make up to a 20 per cent contribution towards America’s carbon emission reduction targets by 2025.
However, a December 2020 report published by France’s High Council on Climate warned that rolling out 5G technology could lead to a sharp increase in power consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, adding an extra 3 to 7 billion extra tonnes of CO2 released into atmosphere.
But phone network providers argued the report has overlooked certain positive aspects that make 5G technology much more efficient compared to previous generations.
From its inception in 2017, Start North’s vision has been that through technology and networking, education can be made a catalyst for sustainable innovation, business and job creation.
According to Dr Dickson Kanungwe Chembe, Electrical Engineering don at the University of Namibia, observes that universities will present 5G Tech Spaces within the domain of Digital Climate Action Frameworks that are aimed at net zero targets.
The other universities in the list are Addis Ababa University and Bahir Dar University (Ethiopia), African School of Economics (Benin, Ivory Coast and Nigeria), Obafemi Awolowo University and University of Lagos (Nigeria), University of Cape Town (South Africa), University of Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), University of Lusaka (Zambia) and University of Namibia.
Africa produces only about four per cent of the world’s emissions but is disproportionately vulnerable to the impact of climate change. To illustrate this, Start North noted, some countries in the Horn of Africa, Somalia, parts of Kenya and part of Sudan, are experiencing the fifth consecutive year without rain.
“On the other side of the continent in West Africa, several countries have been covered by the worst floods in decades.
“Making African societies more resilient requires improvements in infrastructure, social safety nets, and the introduction of green energy and more drought-resistant crops, among many other investments. It is clear, Africa is not getting enough climate finance considering the scale of the problem,” the statement said.
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