Energy is a major issue in the world. More than 80% of the energy comes from fossil fuels, a finite resource unevenly distributed beneath the Earth’s surface. Thus, reserves of fossil fuels are progressively decreasing, and their continued use produces harmful pollutants and greenhouse gases associated with global warming and climate change. But energy is a basic necessity for human activity and economic and social development.
In its Fourth Assessment Report, the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) has confirmed that climate change is real and Africa is “one of the most vulnerable continents to climate change and climate variability”. The continent’s vulnerability is exacerbated, by endemic poverty, economic and institutional weakness, and limited access to infrastructure, technology, and energy. Thus, for its ongoing development, Africa needs more energy despite its vulnerability to the changing climate.
Moreover, the region continues to face several critical challenges related to its energy sector such as energy access, energy security and unsustainable use of wood resources. The main challenge remains how to satisfy the increasing energy demand without exacerbating observed social, economic and environmental problems caused by the changing climate. This international Doctoral Research Programme in Climate Change and Energy (DRP-CCE) lead by Abdou Moumouni University of Niamey, in Niger and implemented in collaboration with renowned African, German and others international universities and institutions, aims at offering top-ranking students an integrated learning environment in which they acquire skills that qualify them as climate change and energy specialists.