Africa is committed to achieving zero net carbon emissions, but it needs more money and time to move away from fossil fuels without compromising its economic development, various African officials reminded international gatherings this week.
Officials from Ghana, South Africa and the African Union told energy conferences this week that the continent is not ready to abandon coal, oil and gas.
“Africa is fully convinced and committed to net zero and supports the climate agenda, but where we differ is on the timing,” African Union (AU) Energy Commissioner Amani Abou-Zeid told AFP on the sidelines of the Green Energy Africa summit in Cape Town.
Africa’s population of 1.3 billion is expected to double by 2050, and AU countries aim to make affordable and reliable energy available to all by 2063, she noted.
The financing of Africa’s ecological transition will probably be one of the main hot topics at the COP27 in November in Cairo.
Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, rich nations have an obligation to help developing countries reduce their emissions as part of global efforts to combat global warming. But they have so far failed to meet their commitments.
Ghana’s Deputy Minister of Energy, Mohammed Amin Adam, said international investment in green energy in Africa was “still appalling”, accounting for only about 2% of the global total.
But African countries will also need to secure funding for oil and gas projects at COP27, as fossil fuel revenues are needed to finance climate adaptation measures, he told AFP.
– Income replacement –
According to the Ghanaian official, most African oil and gas producers derive most of their export revenues from these fuels. “If we give that up, how can we even fund our ability to adapt to climate impacts? We will not be able to.
Unless we have a substitute for our income,” he said.
African countries are among the most exposed to the effects of climate change, including worsening droughts and floods, but they are responsible for only about 3% of global CO2 emissions, recalled in September the former UN Secretary General, Ban
Ki-moon.
Speaking at an African Petroleum Week event in Cape Town, South African Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe said it was not in the country’s interest to move away from coal too quickly as it would hurt the economy and cost thousands of jobs.
South Africa is the continent’s largest producer and consumer of coal, but also one of the world’s twelve largest polluters.
Last year, the government secured $8.5 billion in loans and grants from a group of wealthy countries to finance the transition to greener alternatives. But the agreement is on hold amidst tense negotiations with donor countries on how to
the money must be spent.
“When developed economies come to us and say ‘some of the $8.5 billion is going to be spent to accelerate the exit from coal,’ I think that’s not in our best interest,” Mantashe said.
