The surge in borrowing costs affecting most African countries in the wake of the economic and fiscal harm that has accompanied the Covid-19 pandemic poses a serious risk to the much-needed recovery in energy investment across the continent, which is set to collapse by 30% in 2020. International Energy Agency (IEA) executive director Dr Fatih Birol, who together with African Union Commission (AUC) infrastructure and energy commissioner Dr Amani Abou-Zeid co-chaired the AUC-IEA Second Ministerial Forum on Tuesday, stressed that a strong investment recovery was urgently required to improve energy access across the continent, which was poised to retreat for the first time in seven years in 2020.
