Namibia chooses own energy mix

Namibia’s President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah is in New York, where she has been promoting the country’s position on energy and industrialisation ahead of the United Nations General Assembly general debate, which begins today.

Addressing global business leaders, heads of state and UN officials, Nandi-Ndaitwah made the case for a clean energy future that is just, inclusive and linked to industrialisation.

Speaking at a UN private sector forum on advancing a clean, just and secure energy future, convened by UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Sanda Ojiambo, Assistant Secretary-General and CEO of the UN Global Compact, she said: “Energy policy is inseparable from economic security, climate resilience and human development.”

Transition must connect communities

“A clean energy transition must be measured not only in megawatts installed or emissions avoided, but in jobs created, communities connected, skills transferred and industries established,” Nandi-Ndaitwah said.

She said Namibia approached the energy transition from the perspective of a developing country, while supporting the Paris Agreement and the global goal of limiting the rise in global temperatures to 1.5°C.

“The transition must recognise different national circumstances and safeguard the right of countries to industrialise, eradicate poverty and secure universal access to energy,” she said. “Definitely, we need space to develop our economy and to take care of our people, who are continually languishing in poverty. Without energy, we cannot do anything.”

She said a transition that left communities without power, workers without alternatives or countries trapped at the bottom of global value chains would not be sustainable or fair. “That should not be acceptable at all,” she said.

Namibia’s energy mix

Namibia’s national approach is based on increasingly diversified energy systems, expanding generation capacity and stronger regional integration, Nandi-Ndaitwah said. “Africa’s energy transition must be an industrialisation strategy. We must use clean energy to export power, manufacture, beneficiate, strengthen food systems, modernise transportation and create a skilled workforce.”

Governments must provide direction, predictability and enabling infrastructure, while businesses bring investment, innovation and responsible execution, she said.

In Namibia, collaboration between the public and private sectors has been strengthened through annual forums held since last year, she added.

“Together we can build an energy future that is cleaner and more secure, an industrialised future that creates value where the resources are found, and a transition that is genuinely inclusive, where both young people and women play an equal and significant role,” she said.

“When communities are empowered, business will flourish. When communities are weakened, business will collapse.”

‘Not at our expense’

Nandi-Ndaitwah said the global energy transition could not come at the expense of developing countries. “Namibia is a mineral-based country, but we are setting ourselves up for industrialisation. For this to happen, we need energy, and the energy gap is not only in Namibia but in southern Africa and across Africa.”

Namibia therefore supports an energy supply mix that includes different available sources, she said. “Neither green hydrogen nor other sources of energy are a priority, but all must work together in parallel. We support green hydrogen but also others like oil and gas. Even if we discover coal today,” Namibia would support its development, she said.

Nandi-Ndaitwah also took part in a discussion with Veronica Bolton Smith, founder and CEO of Critical Minerals Africa Group, at the Unstoppable Africa 2026 event in New York.

She said the US$10 billion Hyphen development was only one of Namibia’s major projects and reiterated the country’s support for an energy mix.

“As a country, we believe in the energy mix,” she said. “For us, it is not a question of choice. We want a mix for them to complement each other.”