When my brother and I started our briquetting plant we knew we had stepped into something that could be the salvation of the energy industry in Zambia because whether we like it or not the future depends on a clean energy economy to tackle climate change and ultimately protect our environment.

US President Barack Obama puts it this way, ?We can?t have an energy strategy for the last century that traps us in the past. We need an energy strategy for the future – an all-of-the-above strategy for the 21st century that develops every source of energy.?

Indeed that?s why we need to call for a bold and swift action to lay a new foundation for growth. We need to come up with an above board plan for energy strategy to reduce our dependence on oil, save businesses and consumers money, and position our countries as leaders in clean energy. We need to make this a priority because I believe that we agree, an economy built to last must make the most of our countries' energy resources (it does for Zambia). However, it must be fueled by home-grown and alternative energy sources that make us more secure and less dependent on foreign oil and the depletion of our forest resources.

I am happy to report that Zambia is making much progress in the makings of alternative energy as we have lost plenty forest due to deforestation in the means to access energy such charcoal. My eco gen team in Zambia and I took a trip into the deep forest of Kitwe to sensitize some rural occupants and surprisingly we ran into a church camp where we had a buffet of people from all walks of life so we settled in to acquaint them with a new source of energy made from 100% sawdust. It was a timely meet with them group because they were heavily loaded with charcoal so they expressed much interest and before we left with some passers-by in utter awe, they had adopted the new fuel in their grass thatched kitchens and were cooking with big smiles on their faces. But even with this progress, there is much more work to do. Right now, we?re experiencing yet another painful reminder of why developing new sources of energy is so critical to our future. Just like last year, gas prices are climbing across the country – except this time, even earlier. We know that there are no quick fixes to this challenge. 

That is why we need to continue to focus on an energy approach that builds on the progress we've made and makes Zambia and other countries more energy secure in the years ahead.