This is dangerously wrong: Africa shutting down or leaving its oil and gas in the ground will make Africa much poorer, will not meaningfully lower global emissions, and actually endangers the world
And yet, Africa is disproportionately being punished for the climate catastrophe that, let’s be honest, was initiated and is perpetuated by Western and de http://linkedin.com/in/nj-ayuk-jd-mba-6658662
Many argue that African oil and gas workers can find new jobs with renewables and they will be happy working because they are contributing to lowering global emissions, thereby helping protect the planet. So shutdown oil and gas and JUST STOP OIL. No one loves the planet more than we do.
This is dangerously wrong: Africa shutting down or leaving its oil and gas in the ground will make Africa much poorer, will not meaningfully lower global emissions, and actually endangers the world. Africa can not develop by begging for aid and handouts from wealthy nations.
Natural gas will be even more in demand, with a 25% increase predicted by the IEA. The question isn’t whether the world will keep using oil and gas – the question is who sells it to them.
Africa still needs time – time that the Western world has already had and, frankly continues to milk – to resolve energy poverty and industrialize.
Let’s first address the proverbial elephant in the room: When it comes to global emissions, Africa is NOT the problem.
In 2021, global CO2 emissions hit 37.12 billion tonnes. China ranked first in contributing 11.47 billion tonnes; the entire continent of Africa contributed 1.45 billion tonnes, only 4% of global carbon emissions. In fact, over the last two decades, Africa’s total contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions has never been above 4% — by far the smallest share in all the world.
Africa has the lowest per-capital emissions of all continents, averaging 1 tonne of CO2 emitted annually by each individual. The average American emits as much CO2 in one month as the average African does in an entire year.
And yet, Africa is disproportionately being punished for the climate catastrophe that, let’s be honest, was initiated and is perpetuated by Western and developed economies.
I hear from many who are skeptical about the benefits of oil and gas because they have seen the problems caused by the energy sector. You could make the same arguments about the Internet, which has been blamed for harming social relationships, decreasing our safety and security, and damaging children’s cognitive development. Yet, used wisely, the Internet does considerable good as well, and I’m not hearing widespread calls to get rid of it. My point is, oil and gas can and does do good (I’ve written whole books on the subject!) — the key is to be smart about how we capitalize on our resources.
Some 600 million people on the continent still lack adequate electricity access or even clean cooking technologies. These Africans aren’t focused on the fact that reliable energy infrastructure facilitates economic growth by generating jobs, increasing productivity, and reducing the cost of doing business. Most would be elated to have light in their homes after dark or the ability to refrigerate their food.
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