BY DARGIE KAHSAY
Following the Europe’s energy crisis due to the Russia-Ukraine war, the European continent eyes on Africa’s natural gas reserve to fill the energy demand gap. Consequently, the European countries are eyeing on Africa’s energy potential to replace the Russian gas flow to Europe.
Economically, this would help the African continent to benefit from its natural resource by providing the gas reserve to Europe. The countries that provide the natural gas to the Europe would benefit from foreign currency earning, job creation opportunity for the youth, attracting foreign direct investment and potential foreign companies for new investments both in the sector and other fields. This kind of opportunity could also strengthen the diplomatic and economic relations between the African and European continents.
This kind of massive turnout of the European continent to use Africa’s resource directly and indirectly would benefit the African continent. Europe’s interest on Africa’s natural gas helps African countries to get a massive new market for their natural gas. The international media is forecasting that Africa is on the way to export around 50 percent of its natural gas production to Europe and Asia between 2022 and 2025. This would help Africa to facilitate its economic development by creating more jobs and attracting new investments.
But, at the same time, Climate campaigners and climate activists fear that the new Europe’s eye on Africa’s natural gas may aggravate the continent’s climate crisis. African climate activists and their supporters were campaigning to promote expansion of renewable energy sources in Africa and minimizing the fossil fuel and natural gas investments. But, the climate activists feared the Europe’s focus on African natural gas may initiate the continent to invest more in search of natural gas than in investing on renewable energy sources.
Africa’s energy access is far lower than other regions of the world. According to reports, more than 600 million of the continent’s over 1.3 billion people live without electricity. Hence, the continent needs ambitious investments in renewable energy sources than limited sources. In this regard, the fear of the climate activists is that the Europe’s demand on African natural gas may force the continent to invest in search of natural gases and fossil fuels than in renewable energy sources.
In addition, the huge investment in natural gas and fossil fuel may also lead the continent to further environmental harms, according to the climate activists. Hence, the climate campaigners cautioned that climate issue needs due attention while Africa is preparing to provide its natural gas to Europe. The activists feared that the new face for Africa’s natural gas may aggravate Africa’s climate crisis and climate change during this critical time.
But, if Africa properly and wisely used the opportunity, the continent can transform even its climate action and would help its renewable energy investment. Europe’s demand for Africa’s natural gas could offer financing solutions for Africa’s green energy future by selling its gas potential and reversely invested on its renewable energy sources, like hydro, solar and wind.
Climate crisis affects the African continent even beyond the other parts of the world. With its limited technological advancements and dependent on nature, climate change impacts affected the continent badly. The continent’s energy access remains poor. Due to these reasons, the continent needs strong interventions to minimize the impacts of climate change. The fear of climate activists is the current development may aggravate these shortcomings of the continent.
The climate campaigners’ alarms the new development may promote gas projects in Africa. There was a plan to end supports for oil and gas projects in Africa, which they hoped a potential end of new plans to exploit vast quantities of natural gas resources in different African countries, though African countries are opposing the plans to phase-out supports for gas projects. Europe’s turning its face to African gas resource may extend the Africa’s gas projects and the activists are alarming their concern.
If properly applied, Africa’s gas sale to Europe may become a blessing to finance the formers climate action and the investments in the energy sector. The energy sector investment costs huge finance and technology and Africa’s major limitation to run huge projects in the energy sector is funding. With proper action plans, the continent could benefit from the gas sale to Europe to finance its renewable energy development. On the other hand, rewarding the environment to minimize the environmental harms of the oil projects with the income generated from the gas could also be another mechanism to save the environment.
Europe should also support Africa’s struggle of building climate resilient continent. As Europe sees Africa as new potential of gas source for its energy demand, it is critical to support Africa’s climate action and the efforts of the continent to expand energy access. Europe should give due attention on financing Africa’s climate action and Africa’s renewable energy investment projects while it demands African gas resource.
All in all, Africa’s gas project must be climate friendly. Opposing the Africa’s gas project development is not the solution, instead, making the investment climate friendly and a source of climate finance is a double advantage. As the users are the developed world, Europe, it is also critical to finance Africa’s climate actions parallel to demanding Africa’s gas resource for own energy demand. I hope, the new development would be a blessing to accelerate climate finance and climate action than aggravating climate change and climate crisis in Africa.
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD WEDNESDAY 16 NOVEMBER 2022
