Hunger for Africa's gas sparks concerns

West's focus on continent's fossil fuels threatens climate goals, experts say

Energy-hungry Western nations eyeing gas reserves in Africa have come in for stepped-up criticism during climate talks in Egypt.

Faced with energy shortages resulting from the Russia-Ukraine conflict, many countries in the West have been turning to Africa in the hope of making up the shortfalls. But environmental campaigners have sounded the alarm, with their concerns heightened by a track record of these countries' exploitative practices in Africa and other parts of the world.

The concerns have been aired during the United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP27, in Sharm El-Sheikh. The fact that intensified exploitation of fossil fuels may jeopardize the continent's green transition also weighs heavily on minds in the Red Sea resort.

During Energy Day at the conference this week, activists pointed out that Africa has 39 percent of the world's clean energy potential and does not need gas speculators. The troubling potential expansion of oil, gas and coal projects despite their impact on global warming was at the center of the discussions, with many experts fearing that the goal of curbing global warming to 1.5 C could be in danger.

Joab Okanda, an adviser with the nongovernmental organization Christian Aid, in Kenya, said that no place has suffered more than Africa from the impact of burning fossil fuels. As such, the continent is perfectly placed to show the world a different path to develop, freed from the shackles of a dirty energy system that has wrecked the climate.

"Fossil fuel companies are showing their greed and plan to exploit fossil fuels in 48 out of 55 African countries," Okanda said.

'Galling' fact

"What is so galling is that 89 percent of the liquefied natural gas infrastructure being built in Africa is to be exported to Europe to bail them out of their addiction to Russian gas. We cannot be Europe's gas station. Otherwise, we will crash the climate."

The remarks come after a report titled "Who is Financing Fossil Fuel Expansion in Africa?" revealed that the United States is leading both financially and institutionally in funding fossil fuel exploration on the continent.

The report released by the Africa Climate Reality Project, a nongovernmental organization based in South Africa, and its partners this month observed that Western fossil fuel industries have brought nothing but conflicts and ecological and economic destabilization to the continent.

According to the report's findings, the two largest institutional investors in fossil fuel expansion in Africa are US-based companies with holdings of over $20 billion.

"Between January 2019 and July 2022, banks headquartered in the US accounted for over 20 percent of commercial bank support for fossil fuel expansion in Africa," the report states. "Next in line are French, UK and Japanese banks. Collectively, banks from these four countries accounted for 56 percent of global bank finance for fossil fuel developers in Africa."

According to activists, researchers and advocacy groups at the COP27 summit, exporting natural gas may bring short-term profits but exacerbate the climate crisis and leave African nations worse off in the long run.

Thuli Makama, African program director at Oil Change International, a nonprofit organization in the US, said that history has proved time and again that fossil fuel extraction in African countries has not resulted in development.

However, Simon Stiell, UN Climate Change executive secretary, noted some positive developments on the continent, pointing out that South Africa has launched a multimillion-dollar plan to shift from coal toward green energy.

"This is a key moment in the global push for the transition away from fossil fuels," he said.

"So, we are making headway at COP27, but moving further and faster also means action beyond COP to drive down emissions."