Saturday, January 28, 2023
  • Submit news
  • Contact
  • DMCA
  • Cookie Privacy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
Oil Market News
  • Home
  • Marketdaily
  • Price
  • crudenow
  • Companies
  • politics
  • Gas
  • investing
  • Stock
  • OPEChot
  • brend
  • ships
Oil Market News
Home Market

Calls for a just energy transition in Africa carry echoes of elite panic

7 months ago
in Market
Calls for a just energy transition in Africa carry echoes of elite panic
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


Macky Sall, president of Senegal and chair of the African Union, speaks for many poorer nations when he says: “We will not accept that polluting countries, responsible for the situation of the planet, tell us that we are no longer going to finance fossil fuels.”

Sall’s argument, increasingly familiar among leaders of poorer states sitting on large oil or gas reserves, is essentially that countries left behind by the rapid industrialisation of the richer world must be allowed to exploit their fossil fuels. To tell them not to, or to deny them financing, is humbug.

Africa’s 54 countries, with about a fifth of the world’s population, are responsible for 2 to 3 per cent of cumulative carbon emissions from energy and industrial sources, according to the World Resources Institute. That drops even lower if coal-intensive South Africa is excluded.

Poor countries in Africa and elsewhere have missed out on the magic of the fossil fuel-fuelled industrial revolution that, one by one, has conjured rich countries from poor ones. And though poorer nations have contributed virtually nothing to the climate crisis, they will be among the worst affected by changing weather patterns. Now they are being told they have missed the boat.

Western governments, private banks and well-meaning ESG investors are, in effect, saying: we are terribly sorry but, in the interests of the planet, poor countries must leave their fossil fuels in the ground. Instead, they are told to use sun and wind to power their dreams.

Rich countries got the world into a climate mess, they say, and it is their job to get the world out of it

African leaders are rightly calling time on this hypocrisy. Rich countries got the world into a climate mess, they say, and it is their job to get the world out of it. If that means they must become carbon negative in order to allow poor countries to do a bit of carbon-fuelled catch-up, then so be it.

Latest Oil News

Chevron profits slip as oil and gas prices fall

Chevron profits slip as oil and gas prices fall

January 27, 2023
Big Oil’s cash bonanza | Financial Times

Big Oil’s cash bonanza | Financial Times

January 26, 2023
NYC pension schemes test support for climate action at bank meetings

NYC pension schemes test support for climate action at bank meetings

January 25, 2023
Oilfield services groups cheer ‘structural upcycle’ after highly profitable year

Oilfield services groups cheer ‘structural upcycle’ after highly profitable year

January 24, 2023

They must also pay for technology to help countries transition to new forms of energy such as hydrogen and new mitigation efforts such as carbon capture. After all, rich countries have been shovelling coal and guzzling oil for decades.

This argument is sound as far as it goes. But it cannot go entirely unchallenged. Yemi Osinbajo, Nigeria’s vice-president and another forceful proponent of the “it’s our turn to pollute” argument, has pointed out that nearly half of Nigeria’s 210mn people have no access to electricity. The country still has a nominal per capita income of only $2,400 and a life expectancy of 55. Nigeria needs more time, he says, to use its oil and gas to bring light and prosperity to its people.

But Nigeria has had 60 years to do precisely that. It began serious oil production in 1960 and has been producing 2mn barrels or thereabouts for decades. Almost all of that oil, however, was exported to rich countries, which burnt it and benefited as a result. The lion’s share of profits — rent, as economists call it — went to Nigerian elites who controlled access to the resources and the multinational oil companies that persuaded them to part with it.

The same goes for other oil-producing countries whose governments have failed to transform oil into prosperity. Angola, with 32mn people but similar reserves, has squandered even more oil wealth per capita than Nigeria — no mean feat. Mozambique has Qatar-proportioned quantities of offshore gas but almost no credible plan to transform these riches into sustainable benefits for its impoverished people.

If countries argue for a just transition, it needs to benefit the majority of their people

“For all the talk that exporting energy is going to make us rich, I refer you to Equatorial Guinea,” says James Mwangi, executive director of the Dalberg Group consultancy, pointing to another country whose ruling class has lined its pockets while most of its people remain poor.

Certainly, if you listen carefully enough to talk of a just transition, you can just about discern the sound of elites panicking that they are going to be deprived of their rents. Mwangi argues that poor countries can do much more to cash in on opportunities thrown up by the global push towards net zero.

For the just transition argument to land, countries such as Nigeria must change what they use hydrocarbons for. Instead of flaring gas, as they have done in enormous quantities for decades, they need to pipe it ashore and transform it into power for homes and industry. Aliko Dangote, Nigeria’s top businessman, has finally opened a plant on the outskirts of Lagos to transform gas into fertiliser — it’s a no-brainer and ought to have been done decades ago.

If countries argue for a just transition, it needs to benefit the majority of their people through electricity, power and industrial transformation. Anything else is just hot air.

david.pilling@ft.com



www.ft.com

Tags: AfricacallscarryechoeseliteEnergypanicTRANSITION
Previous Post

Oil prices swing as traders scour U.S. for crude supplies

Next Post

 Stella Maris: the men who go down to the sea in ships

Related Posts

Chevron profits slip as oil and gas prices fall

Chevron profits slip as oil and gas prices fall

by Oil Market News
January 27, 2023
0

Chevron announced record earnings for 2022 but its fourth-quarter profits slipped from previous months in a sign that Big Oil’s...

Big Oil’s cash bonanza | Financial Times

Big Oil’s cash bonanza | Financial Times

by Oil Market News
January 26, 2023
0

This article is an on-site version of our Energy Source newsletter. Sign up here to get the newsletter sent straight to...

NYC pension schemes test support for climate action at bank meetings

NYC pension schemes test support for climate action at bank meetings

by Oil Market News
January 25, 2023
0

New York City has filed demands for tougher climate change action from US banks on behalf of retirement schemes worth...

Oilfield services groups cheer ‘structural upcycle’ after highly profitable year

Oilfield services groups cheer ‘structural upcycle’ after highly profitable year

by Oil Market News
January 24, 2023
0

The “Big Three” international oilfield services groups last year registered their most profitable 12 months since the heyday of the...

EU/diesel: loss of Russian imports supportive for independent refiners

EU/diesel: loss of Russian imports supportive for independent refiners

by Oil Market News
January 23, 2023
0

On the whole, the ban on Russian crude oil has worked well. It has lowered revenues for Russia without causing...

Dutch government aims to close Europe’s largest gasfield this year

Dutch government aims to close Europe’s largest gasfield this year

by Oil Market News
January 22, 2023
0

The Netherlands wants to close Europe’s largest gasfield this year because it is “very dangerous” to keep operating it, according...

Next Post
 Stella Maris: the men who go down to the sea in ships

 Stella Maris: the men who go down to the sea in ships

Subscribe
Notify of
guest
guest
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Trend Oil News

Citi says Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s new strategy offers no real change to near-term

Citi says Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s new strategy offers no real change to near-term

9 months ago
BOEM sets date for US Gulf of Mexico oil and gas Lease Sale 259

BOEM sets date for US Gulf of Mexico oil and gas Lease Sale 259

3 months ago
Exxon Sets Sail On Massive Houston Ship Channel Carbon Capture Project

Exxon Sets Sail On Massive Houston Ship Channel Carbon Capture Project

3 months ago
Hedge funds bet on Brazil oil and gas output surging 122%

Hedge funds bet on Brazil oil and gas output surging 122%

7 months ago
OPEC expands control of oil markets as shale growth stalls

OPEC expands control of oil markets as shale growth stalls

1 week ago
ADVERTISEMENT
Bob Simpson’s TXO Energy goes public, soars 10% on first trading day

Bob Simpson’s TXO Energy goes public, soars 10% on first trading day

January 27, 2023

Internet of Things-as-a-Service to Enable Improved Opportunities

January 27, 2023

U.S. lawmakers ask Kerry to urge UAE to replace oil boss as COP28 president By

January 27, 2023

White House blasts Big Oil stock buybacks again as Chevron profits double

January 27, 2023

OPEC to Stay the Course on Oil Production Agreement; China’s Reopening Bullish for

January 27, 2023

Trinity To Spud Jacobin Well In Second Quarter Of 2023

January 27, 2023

Crude Oil

German Crude Oil Imports Rose 11% in 2022 As Crude Import Bill Doubles

German Crude Oil Imports Rose 11% in 2022 As Crude Import Bill Doubles

January 27, 2023
Europe Is Diversifying Its Diesel Sources Ahead Of Ban On Russian Fuel

Europe Is Diversifying Its Diesel Sources Ahead Of Ban On Russian Fuel

January 26, 2023
Opinion | Should the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Be Used Now?

Opinion | Should the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Be Used Now?

January 25, 2023
Rising Crude, Oil Products Inventories Weigh On Oil Prices

Rising Crude, Oil Products Inventories Weigh On Oil Prices

January 24, 2023

Investing

U.S. lawmakers ask Kerry to urge UAE to replace oil boss as COP28 president By

U.S. lawmakers ask Kerry to urge UAE to replace oil boss as COP28 president By

January 27, 2023
ESG Investing Fight Is Heating up in Kentucky and Could Cost Taxpayers

ESG Investing Fight Is Heating up in Kentucky and Could Cost Taxpayers

January 26, 2023
Chevron goes big with new $75 billion buyback, surpassing Exxon’s By Investing.com

Chevron goes big with new $75 billion buyback, surpassing Exxon’s By Investing.com

January 25, 2023
Oil falls $2/barrel on economic jitters, U.S. crude stock build By Reuters

Oil falls $2/barrel on economic jitters, U.S. crude stock build By Reuters

January 24, 2023

Market

Chevron profits slip as oil and gas prices fall

Chevron profits slip as oil and gas prices fall

January 27, 2023
Big Oil’s cash bonanza | Financial Times

Big Oil’s cash bonanza | Financial Times

January 26, 2023
NYC pension schemes test support for climate action at bank meetings

NYC pension schemes test support for climate action at bank meetings

January 25, 2023
Oilfield services groups cheer ‘structural upcycle’ after highly profitable year

Oilfield services groups cheer ‘structural upcycle’ after highly profitable year

January 24, 2023

OPEC

OPEC to Stay the Course on Oil Production Agreement; China’s Reopening Bullish for

OPEC to Stay the Course on Oil Production Agreement; China’s Reopening Bullish for

January 27, 2023
Biden vowed to punish Saudis over OPEC cut. That’s no longer the plan

Biden vowed to punish Saudis over OPEC cut. That’s no longer the plan

January 26, 2023
Oil Steadies as Traders Look to China, OPEC for Fresh Triggers

Oil Steadies as Traders Look to China, OPEC for Fresh Triggers

January 25, 2023
FG tasks 2023 OPEC’s President on attracting investments in oil

FG tasks 2023 OPEC’s President on attracting investments in oil

January 24, 2023
  • Submit news
  • Contact
  • DMCA
  • Cookie Privacy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

© 2022 OilMarket.News

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Market
  • Price
  • crude
  • Companies
  • politics
  • Gas
  • investing
  • Stock
  • OPEC
  • brend
  • ships

© 2022 OilMarket.News

wpDiscuz
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.