As the continent with the smallest percentage of global greenhouse gas emissions, Africa should be treated equally when addressing global climate concerns, according to OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais on Tuesday.
Speaking at an energy conference in Cape Town, the chairman of OPEC noted that the region required greater assistance and cooperation because oil consumption in Africa was predicted to increase by about 80% between now and 2045.
“In a world in which Heathrow Airport consumes more energy than Sierra Leone or in which two-thirds of all primary schools in sub-Saharan Africa have no access to electricity, the same environmental yardstick should not be used to compare regions at vastly different stages of development,” Al Ghais wrote on his website.
Despite having the world’s lowest per capita energy use, Africa is home to around 13% of the world’s natural gas and 7% of its oil.
The fossil fuel sector frequently reiterates this claim to boost oil production on the continent: “Utilizing Africa’s natural resources, like oil and gas, will help deliver energy affordability and alleviate energy poverty.”
Around 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa do not have access to electricity, and nearly 1 billion do not have access to clean cooking energy despite the region’s enormous potential for solar, wind, and hydrogen energy.
Experts on climate change have noted that in African nations with significant fossil fuel deposits, earnings have primarily gone to enrich corrupt political leaders rather than reducing overall or energy poverty. According to them, the corruption that comes with petrodollars frequently results in even worse provision of essential services.
Only 40% and 57% of the populations of Angola and Nigeria, two of Africa’s top oil producers for decades, had access to electricity in 2021, according to data from the World Bank from a year ago.
