Africa-Press – Cape verde. Every country and society must strive to identify their own resources and alternatives for energy production in order to ensure energy security, argued Claudino Mendes, a representative of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
This position was expressed on the sidelines of a conference on sustainable energy currently being held in São Vicente.
According to Claudino Mendes—who serves as the coordinator of the ECOWAS Sustainable Energy Competence Certification Program—oil has become “a scarce commodity,” making it “necessary to find alternatives,” as “everything is tied to this resource.”
This necessity, he explained, must be viewed within the current context—marked by the war in the Middle East—which has contributed to a surge in fuel prices on the international market.
“Whenever there is an energy crisis, there is talk of an energy transition. The first energy transition occurred when we shifted from coal to oil. There was a subsequent ‘boom,’ driven by the discovery of new resources and the need to make the most of them. Now, the problem has become oil,” he said.
In the case of Cabo Verde, he added, given its status as an island nation with a fragile economy, it is crucial to strengthen international cooperation—both in terms of imports and the adaptation of technologies to the national context.
Claudino Mendes emphasized that the country possesses abundant natural resources—such as solar and wind energy—but lacks the appropriate strategy and investment to fully capitalize on these assets.
“What we effectively need is a strategy and our own domestic investment to enable us to harness these resources. International cooperation is vital for the development of adapted technologies that address the needs of the country as a whole,” he argued.
The expert further noted that while Cabo Verde has already established targets within its energy strategy framework, it frequently encounters incidents and crises; he therefore believes it is necessary to rethink these guidelines. “We must view this issue from various perspectives. It is not merely a matter of investing in new renewable technologies, but also of becoming more efficient—both in our household habits and in terms of construction and resource use—all of which have an economic impact on our daily lives,” he observed.
According to Claudino Mendes, the ultimate goal is to reduce dependence on conventional resources and, consequently, on price fluctuations in the international market.
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