Justicia Shipena
Policymakers and energy leaders from six African countries will convene in Walvis Bay this week for the Namibia Parliamentary Green Investment Dialogue.
The four-day regional event, running from Thursday through Sunday, will focus on mobilising climate finance for green energy development.
The dialogue will bring together delegations from Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, Rwanda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The event is hosted by the Climate Parliament and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), with support from the Green Climate Fund (GCF).
It marks the final leg in a series of regional dialogues held under the Parliamentarians for Climate Finance project, following earlier sessions in Morocco.
The meeting comes as African countries work to scale low-carbon infrastructure and respond to rising global interest in green hydrogen.
Namibia is positioning itself as a regional leader, with growing investment in renewable fuels and emerging green industrial zones.
“This is a decisive moment for Africa. Green hydrogen has the potential to reshape energy systems and industrial value chains,” said Sergio Missana, secretary general of the Climate Parliament.
Missana said parliamentarians are present to understand how legislation, planning, and finance can help turn that vision into reality.
As part of the program, delegates will visit two key green hydrogen projects, such as Cleanergy Solutions Namibia, which is developing the country’s first hydrogen refuelling station to support clean transport.
They will also visit HyIron Oshivela, which is building the world’s first industrial-scale green iron facility powered entirely by solar and wind-generated hydrogen.
“These sites demonstrate how targeted investment in green energy infrastructure can create new value chains while reducing emissions and energy costs,” organisers said.
The head of Namibia’s Green Hydrogen Programme, James Mnyupe, said the initiative was created by Namibian members of parliament to incubate a novel sector and support long-term development.
“Policymakers can play a critical and often catalytic role in engendering accelerated socioeconomic emancipation of their representatives. We look forward to fostering a progressive dialogue with like-minded peers from around the world as we look to uplift the living conditions of our people and indeed all of humanity,” he said.
Sessions at the dialogue will explore climate finance instruments, policy frameworks for green energy zones, and strategies for scaling Namibia’s early leadership in green hydrogen.
Other sessions will highlight planning tools for national and county-level implementation and community-led clean energy initiatives.
The meeting will end with national breakout sessions, where MPs and technical experts will work on actionable country strategies.
The outcomes will inform legislative planning, investment frameworks, and project development across the region.
