African leaders at odds over climate plans

September 06, 2023

African leaders and campaigners are at odds over the way forward for the continent as a critical climate summit begins in Nairobi.

Some countries, such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Egypt and South Africa, have been expanding their renewable energy access and leading transition efforts on the continent, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency.

Africa has abundant renewable energy potential, solar power is the cheapest source of energy in most African countries, and as the costs associated with renewables fall, green energy access is becoming more accessible, say energy experts.
But African nations with large oil and natural gas reserves – such as Nigeria, an oil-producing country where reserves, regulators believe, will last a few more decades, and Senegal, which has made significant oil and gas discoveries in recent years – argue they should be able to use those resources for economic growth and increased energy access.
 


Other countries such as Namibia are straddling a middle ground, attracting significant investment in renewable energy while exploring the potential of oilfields off its coast over the last few years.



The continent is responsible for less than 4% of emissions and with 600 million people across the continent without access to electricity and an expected rise in demand, debate has grown over the last decade on what a “just energy transition” for the continent would entail.

Climate campaigners, who convened a peaceful climate march in Nairobi on Monday, say new investments in fossil fuels across the continent set an alarming trend. “We are marching for ambitious renewable energy targets and an end to fossil fuels,” said Hardi Yakubu, of the advocacy network Africans Rising.
 
Wangari Muchiri, the Africa director at the Global Wind Energy Council, said debates around gas could stall critical discussions on what it would take for the continent to undergo “green industrialisation”, such as increased investments in renewables and building the continent’s renewable energy manufacturing capacity.

Campaigners believe a fossil fuel phaseout should be on the summit’s agenda. With the dash for gas in Senegal and projects such as the East African crude oil pipeline, Yakubu said, there was no sign of a slowdown.