Africa’s Oil and Gas Sector Remains Committed to a Just Energy Transition for Africa With and African Timetable Post Conference of the Parties (COP27) (By NJ Ayuk)

Africa’s Oil and Gas Sector Remains Committed to a Just Energy Transition for Africa With and African Timetable Post Conference of the Parties (COP27) (By NJ Ayuk)

I arrived Sharm El Sheikh for COP27 to stickers bearing the circulating arrows emblem of sustainability. The city appears to be in tip-top shape. I listened to the speeches at the opening ceremony of COP27 noting that Africa faces a quandary: The continent is seeking to eradicate energy poverty and create a better future for our people with a known solution that developed countries have exploited for centuries, namely fossil fuels. Yet many of those very countries are now standing in Africa’s way.

Rich Western forces, especially in Europe, have been pushing for an immediate shift away from fossil fuels, and their pressure is impacting Africa’s oil and gas industry. We’re already seeing investments in new oil and gas projects dwindle and one announcement after another about majors divesting African oil and gas assets. New developments, especially of our vast, newly discovered natural gas reserves, remain under threat.

What Western proponents for a rapid energy transition are ignoring is the role fossil fuels can play in bringing reliable energy to the hundreds of millions of Africans who now go without it, not to mention fossil fuel’s potential to pave the way for industrialization, economic growth, and greater stability for our people. At