President of the International Energy Agency (IEA), economist Fatih Birol calls for using the continent’s enormous solar potential to reduce its energy poverty. It also asks Western countries not to oppose the exploitation of gas reserves for domestic purposes, under penalty of hampering the industrialization and development of Africa. The impact on global greenhouse gas emissions and global warming would be insignificant, according to IEA calculations.
It is important for African heads of state to grasp global energy and climate issues, but it is also essential for Western leaders, China and other major nations to understand the realities and needs of Africa. The situation on the continent should be looked at more objectively.
Let’s say that I think it useful to recall certain facts. One in two people in Africa still does not have access to electricity, even though the continent has the largest solar energy potential in the world. Solar energy has become everywhere, including in Africa, the cheapest source of energy. However, today, the energy produced from solar on a continent of more than 1 billion inhabitants is half that produced by the Netherlands.
This is one of the greatest economic injustices I have ever seen. I would also like to recall that all of us who talk a lot about gender inequalities have before our eyes in Africa, due to the lack of access to modern energy, one of the biggest of them: the fact that 75% of families continue Dependence on charcoal to cook food means women waste an average of four hours a day collecting firewood and cooking. Every year, hundreds of thousands of them die from indoor air pollution. However, according to our calculations, these two major issues for the future of Africa can be resolved by investing 25 billion dollars per year [23 billion euros], which is what we spend when we build a medium-sized terminal of liquefied natural gas.
Advanced economies have so far chosen to ignore them. This posture cannot continue. What has not been done for ethical reasons – Western countries could have done more to solve these problems of energy poverty in Africa – becomes an imperative to contain global warming and prevent massive migratory movements. But there is another issue, which is that of development, and which may appear in conflict with the climate issue when it comes to deciding whether Africa should or should not use its fossil fuels, and in particular its important gas reserves.
My analysis is as follows: the continent can meet more than 95% of its electricity needs through renewable energy (solar, wind and hydro). But Africa needs energy to develop an agri-food industry, fertilizer and cement factories, water desalination… On a technical level, the manufacturing processes in these sectors require temperatures that cannot be achieved with renewable energies.
Therefore, Africa, for its domestic needs, must use its gas reserves. And, according to our calculations, this would have a very marginal impact on greenhouse gas emissions, since assuming that sub-Saharan Africa uses all its reserves – which is impossible – its share in emissions [linked to the combustion of fossil fuels] would increase from 3% to 3.5%. The dogmatic attitude of Western countries, which wish to prevent Africa from using its gas, amounts to prohibiting it from industrializing. And we must also be aware of the consequences that this has on the geopolitical level, by widening the divide between Africa and the Western world. I don’t believe that is a good thing.
Fairly little. They have made a move to ensure their own gas supplies through imports, but I am talking about a production whose objective would be to supply the continent. On this point, unfortunately, Westerners have moved little.
There are indeed many new export-oriented projects. I wonder about their economic viability. It must be understood that the world demand for oil will no longer increase much because the energy transition, in particular in transport, is underway. We expect demand for oil to peak before 2030. However, these new fields are often more expensive to exploit than existing fields. Their exploitation will take several years before reaching the operational production stage. Regardless of climatic considerations, there is therefore an economic equation that does not justify exploiting these reserves. And I don’t think, despite the announcements that have been made, that most will finally see the light of day.
