VIDEO: Addressing a high level audience of global business leaders, Heads of State and Government, and United Nations leadership, Her Excellency Dr Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, President of the Republic of Namibia, made a strong case for a clean energy future that is just, inclusive and industrialised. She was speaking at the United Nations Private Sector Forum on Advancing a Clean, Just and Secure Energy Future, hosted by the UN Global Compact. The Forum was convened by UN Secretary-General His Excellency Mr António Guterres and Ms Sanda Ojiambo, Assistant Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer of the UN Global Compact, bringing together captains of industry, private sector leaders and development partners.

Addressing a high level audience of global business leaders, Heads of State and Government, and United Nations leadership, Her Excellency Dr Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, President of the Republic of Namibia, made a strong case for a clean energy future that is just, inclusive and industrialised. She was speaking at the United Nations Private Sector Forum on Advancing a Clean, Just and Secure Energy Future, hosted by the UN Global Compact. The Forum was convened by UN Secretary-General His Excellency Mr António Guterres and Ms Sanda Ojiambo, Assistant Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer of the UN Global Compact, bringing together captains of industry, private sector leaders and development partners. President Nandi-Ndaitwah told the Forum that energy policy has become inseparable from economic security, climate resilience and human development. The question is no longer whether the global energy system must change, she said, but how to accelerate that change at the scale and pace required. While reaffirming Namibia’s commitment to the Paris Agreement and the 1.5 degree pathway, President Nandi-Ndaitwah stressed that the transition must reflect different national circumstances. It must safeguard the right of developing countries to industrialise, eradicate poverty and achieve universal energy access. A transition that leaves communities without power or countries trapped at the bottom of value chains, she cautioned, will be neither durable nor fair. She outlined Namibia’s approach as one anchored in a diversified energy system, expanded domestic generation and stronger regional integration. At the continental level, she argued that Africa’s energy transition must also be an industrialisation strategy, using clean energy not merely to export power and raw minerals, but to manufacture, beneficiate, strengthen food systems, modernise transport and build a skilled workforce. In closing, the President called for a clear division of responsibility: Governments must provide direction and enabling infrastructure; businesses must bring investment and responsible execution; and the United Nations, development finance institutions and international partners must help align standards and mobilise finance. President Nandi-Ndaitwah called for an energy future that is cleaner, more secure and more inclusive, one where value is created where resources are found, and where young people and women play a central role. She invited business leaders to join Namibia on that journey towards a healthier and more prosperous world for all.