Page 11 - AfrElec Week 14 2021

AfrElec NEWS IN BRIEF AfrElec

DATA CENTRES opportunities are realised at both grass-roots CLIMATE CHANGE
and hi-tech levels.”
Africa Data Centres to build Global leaders pledge

10MW Lagos facility ESKOM support for climate change

Africa Data Centres, the carrier-neutral data in Africa
centre company in the Liquid Intelligent Eskom protects itself in
Technologies stable, has announced plans to In a historic and united show of solidarity for
build a 10MW facility in Nigeria’s largest city, Oracle dispute a continent that contributes only 5% to global
Lagos. emissions, more than 30 heads of state and
The company, which already operates South Africa’s Eskom has taken steps to global leaders committed to prioritize actions
data centres in South Africa and Kenya, said protect its operations from disruptions after a that help African countries adapt to the
construction on the new facility has already contractual dispute with Oracle Corp.’s South impacts of climate change and “build forward
started. African unit put its technical support services better.”
The Nigerian data centre will form Africa at risk. Africa now faces the dual onslaught of
Data Centres’ West African hub, the company The state power utility confirmed on climate change – currently estimated at
said on Tuesday. It will add to its network of Monday that it’s involved in the disagreement between $7bn and $15bn each year – and
data centres in Johannesburg, Cape Town, in which Oracle initially claimed Eskom Covid-19, which has claimed 114,000 lives.
Nairobi, Harare and Kigali. underpaid it by ZAR7.3bn ($500mn), The African Development Bank (AfDB)
The stimulus effect to the economy of Bloomberg reported. expects that the impact of climate change on
digitisation is well documented and Nigeria is While the amount was later reduced the continent could rise to $50bn each year by
ready for this technology boon between the parties, Oracle rejected Eskom’s 2040, with a further 3% decline each year in
CEO Stephane Duproz said its clients, settlement offer of ZAR166mn and threatened GDP by 2050.
including so-called “hyperscale” cloud to terminate its services, the power utility said Speaking during a virtual Leaders’
computing providers, have expressed their in an emailed statement. Dialogue convened by the African
interest in utilising a data centre facility in Eskom has “assessed the risks in the event Development Bank (www.AFD.org), the
Nigeria. of Oracle withdrawing” its services and put Global Center on Adaptation (GCA.org) and
News of Africa Data Centres’ Nigerian interim processes in place “to reduce the risks the Africa Adaptation Initiative, more than
plans comes after the company last year of its operations being disrupted,” it said. 30 heads of state and global leaders rallied
acquired Standard Bank’s data centre in Eskom approached a South African court behind the bold new Africa Adaptation
Samrand, north Johannesburg. It is also to compel Oracle to continue its technical Acceleration Programme.
expanding its nearby facility in Midrand. support services until April 2022 but its The programme’s objective is to mobilize
Duproz said the Lagos build will help application was dismissed last week, it said. It $25bn to accelerate climate change adaptation
spur the Nigerian economy. “The stimulus intends to seek leave to appeal. actions across Africa.
effect to the economy of digitisation is Debt-laden Eskom is already under President Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi
well documented and Nigeria is ready for pressure from creditors and has struggled for Tshilombo of the Democratic Republic of
this technology boon. Furthermore, our years to provide reliable power, leading to Congo, and African Union Chairperson,
construction policy is to uplift the community disruptions that ripple through Africa’s most invited his fellow leaders to: “revisit our
as far as possible, employing local contractors industrialized economy. climate ambitions and accelerate the
and creating work opportunities within the implementation of our actions planned under
communities we enter – so the job creation our national priorities. To do this we will need
to focus on actions to adapt to the impacts
of climate change, these include nature-
based solutions, energy transition, enhanced
transparency framework, technology transfer
and climate finance.”
The Africa Adaptation Acceleration
Programme is built to address the impacts of
Covid-19, climate change, and the continent’s
worst recession in 25 years. This is why
today’s unprecedented show of support for
the financing of African adaptation is so
significant.
According to Ban Ki-moon, the 8th
Secretary-General of the United Nations and
the Chair of the Global Center on Adaptation,
“The Covid-19 pandemic is eroding recent
progress in building climate resilience and
leaving countries and communities more
vulnerable to future shocks. Africa must make
up for lost ground and lost time. Climate

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