“The defunding of gas projects by most financing organizations is a threat to achieving a global energy transition that is equitable, inclusive, and just.” — Minister of Environment, Mohammad M. Abubakar
By Uthman Salami
For the first time since post colonisation era, African Nations are taken their destiny into their hands, defying the self-serving hand-me-down policies of the West and pursuing what they deem good for their peoples, not what is good for their once upon on a time colonial masters, who always feel oblige to make decisions and policies for the rest of the world at the expense of other countries’ economic well being.
After scooping up millions of Dollars to develop and transform her continent through carbon related fuel-what they now term as toxic and injurious to the ozone layer- thereby making the peoples of the world to produce more precipitates ever than usual.
Out of the blue, they discovered that such exploitation should be abandoned even by the continent that contributes an insignificant amount to the global warming.
Some African analysts and key players in the African oil and gas industry have begun to question the motive of these escapade and belief. At every forum, the question they keep asking is why now that African Nations are beginning to harness the abundance of these resources and bent on utilizing it to transform the continent, that these wealthy nations only realize the resources are toxic to the environment, as such, it should be defunded? Did it just occur to them that carbon emission was never good for the environment? If carbon is the issue, Why not invest heavily in technologies that will remove this carbon element from the fuel?
Paris Accord and reneged $100 billion fund for Africa to adapt to new norma
Having seen the potency the dangers carbon emission has been causing the globe, the Paris Agreement was launched where a target of gripping global warming to a range of 1.5 to 2 Celsius above pre-industrial levels by the year 2050. Nearly all nations agreed to the Agreement, committing themselves to work hand in unison and geared their resources toward nipping global warming to the minimum.
Long before the agreement was signed; developed countries – including the United States – had agreed to help Africa and other developing countries to battle climate change.
The reason for this may not be a far-fetched one. These wealthy nations have been benefiting for more than a century of carbon-intensive development which has now thrown the populations in Africa and throughout the developing world to greater risks.
That was why in 2009, these countries vowed to provide $100 billion annually to support Africa and the developing world to fight the menace and prepare for its effects. But unfortunately, that promise has never been fulfilled till this moment. Despite their unfulfilled promises, they continue to pressurise Africans to abandon carbon related energy drive to clean-energy, which the UN had once described as necessary “because without renewables, there can be no future.”
In other words, Africans should start all over again and abandon years of investments in fossil fuels energy driven sector to start aground a fresh exploit after years of investment.
No fund for Africa to battle climate change, but billions of Dollars for Ukraine to ward off Russia
The Minister of Environment, Mohammad Mahmood Abubakar said an international push to stop funding for gas projects in sub-Saharan Africa is threatening the region’s ability to decarbonize in a fair way.
Speaking during a virtual ministerial event on energy, hosted by the United Nations, Mohammad Mahmood Abubakar said chunk of Western countries “have gas as a major pillar in their multi decade decarbonization.”
“However, many are now limiting financing to gas projects for domestic use in sub-Saharan Africa, a region responsible for 0.55% of global carbon emission that still needs to industrialize and grow,” he said.
“The defunding of gas projects by most financing organizations is a threat to achieving a global energy transition that is equitable, inclusive, and just, leaving no one behind.”
“The defunding of gas projects by most financing organizations is a threat to achieving a global energy transition that is equitable, inclusive, and just.”
Meanwhile, while Africa are being deny funds to explore her natural resources and using the proceeds to launch herself into the renewable, big financial leaders have placed $18.4 billion to help Ukraine pay its bills, as reported by international media.
Finance ministers and central bank governors of the United States, Japan, Canada, Britain, Germany, France and Italy – the G7 – are jointly working on how to pump more money into a war that could have been stopped had the powers in play chosen the path to peace.
While quoting from a draft communique, Reuter said “In 2022, we have mobilized $18.4 billion of budget support, including $9.2 billion of recent commitments.”
Over $40 billion in additional aid to Ukraine was approved by the U.S. bringing the total commitment to the War to roughly $54 billion, when combined with the aid package passed two months ago.
According to a report by Bianca Pallaro and Alicia Parlapiano of The New York Times, the $31.4 billion out of this fund is two times the amount given in 2011 to Afghanistan, the largest U.S. foreign aid recipient until now.
On E.U’s side alone, the European Commission has disbursed €300 million out of the proposed £600 million of €1.2 billion in emergency Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to Ukraine. The disbursement is meant to aide Ukraine’s macroeconomic stability in the context of Russia’s invasion.
In an exclusive interview with Nigerian NewsDirect, the President, Oil and Gas Trainer Association of Nigeria (OGTAN), Mazi Sam Onyechi believed Africa could reach her full potentials and meets her obligations to the rest of world if only the developed world supports her fossil fuels exploration for a time being.
He said, “Africa has huge deposits of fossil fuels and can only solve her energy poverty in a cost-effective and timely manner through exploration of these abundant energy forms.
“Being part of the global economy, it is not out of place to expect global assistance and support for Africa to meet her energy needs in line with the SDG of the United Nations, so our big Western brothers should rather be looking at how best to assist Africa explore her fossil energy resources for a reasonable length of time that would enable the continent meet a comparable percentage of her energy needs, albeit with the deleterious effects of global warming in mind.”
Onyechi further wondered why Nuclear energy has not been ended despite the existential threat to humans and the entire globe as a whole.
“The environmental dangers of nuclear energy have not stopped the western world from exploiting that energy source. All they did was create relevant technology for prevention of nuclear accidents and for protection of lives and the environment in case of any mishap.
Investing in carbon capture technologies remains best option for all sides
Like many other stakeholders in the sector, investing in technologies that will be channeled at capturing carbon related elements was the only way out of this logjam, according to OGTAN President.
“If the world is sincere about achieving the UN’s SDG across clime and peoples, what exactly would be wrong in the western world investing into carbon capture technology in all its ramifications and making policies that would ensure that this technology is available at little to no cost and when fully developed becomes an integral part of fossil fuel exploration as a mitigation measure against carbon emissions, or at least minimisation to acceptable levels.
He maintained that doing this would provide “Africa time to grow her energy industry with her abundant, affordable and available fossil fuel.”
No justification for campaign to defund fossil fuel exploration
Mr. Onyechi sees no justification for the campaigns by western countries geared at defunding fossil fuel exploration in Africa, saying that “what is good for the goose should be good for the gander.”
He believed it is unjustifiable if the Western world had her economy developed through fossil fuels, only to make a U-turn when it is the turn of Africa to harness same opportunities.
He noted that “Africa by right deserves a comparable opportunity to develop her economy through greater access to the type of energy that is currently available and affordable to her, especially as she has over the years not contributed much to the current climate change issues of the globe.”
He opined that the only way to be fair is through granting “Africa reasonable concessions to utilise her fossil fuels, especially transition fuels like gas which has low carbon threshold and also look into mitigation technologies for fossil fuel exploration such as carbon capture technology.”
Oil extraction without responsibility posits more dangers for Africa
The Director of Programmes, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa, Philip Jakpor, however, said the failure of Africa, especially Nigeria, to bring prosperity to her peoples through years of fossil fuels explorations since striking commercial quantities more than six decades ago remains a thing of grave concerns.
He declared that oil extraction without responsibility will continue to toss more dangers on the ways of the peoples of the continent, with “Six decades of oil extraction. without responsibility has left the Niger Delta as the most polluted environment in the world,” he said.
Citing the eyesore environmental impacts currently being witnessed in Ogoni land in Rivers State, which will consume billions of dollars in clean up funds and up to 30 years to complete, as enough deterrent for Africa to jettison the continuous toxic fossil fuels exploration.
He said “Bayelsa state experiences one or more spills every day.
“The entire Niger Delta is in need of a comprehensive environmental audit. To cut the chase, if oil has only brought pain, loss of livelihood, loss of life and mystery then transiting to clean, safe and affordable energy systems, as long as they are community managed, is the way out.
“That is where the world is going and we can’t change that tide. Many nations that started on the same pedestal as Nigeria in the 1960s have used oil to transform their nations into paradise and are at the forefront of a just transition.
“The Gulf states are examples. If we do not put the mechanism and processes of transition in place we will wake up one day to a world where no one uses oil. Maybe then we will drink our oil.”