Addressing this energy deficit requires the mobilisation of a wide range of resources, including the continent’s vast renewable resources, as well as natural gas, the least polluting fossil fuel.
However, climate pledges made by rich countries on renewable investments have failed to materialise, while simultaneously, debates in global policy forums and decisions taken by policymakers in the global North have placed obstacles in the way of the critical gas investments Africa requires.
The World Bank has stemmed financing for fossil fuels, while at the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow (COP26), 39 countries and development agencies also pledged to stop direct international public financing of fossil fuel projects. At the same time, many countries in the North continue to expand fossil fuel use at home, triggering a backlash from many African governments and organisations, levying accusations that Africa is being expected to carbon finance the global North.
Reliable grids, that do not fluctuate are essential for economic development and delivering public services such as healthcare. But the narrow scope of the global response to climate change, that in practice has not accounted for the world’s disparate energy needs and differing responsibilities, are hindering African countries efforts to achieve their development goals.
Just over half (55.7%) of the 1.3 billion people living in Africa have access to electricity, leaving over 600 million on the continent with no access to electricity, equivalent to almost twice the total population of the US. and 1.3 that of the European Union (EU). Electricity is also expensive, with the average electricity costs of running a modern fridge in Africa 2.6% of average annual income, more than five times the global average rate. Outages also make supply unreliable. Over a quarter of those connected to the grid only have access half of the time or less. Estimates suggest electric shortages cost the continent about two to four percent of gross domestic product (GDP) a year.
Africa also has the lowest access to clean cooking of any region globally, at less than one in three people. In total, over 930 million in Africa lack access to clean cooking fuels. This is more than Europe’s entire population and three times that of the US. Concerningly, Africa is also the only region in which the number of people using unclean cooking fuels is on the rise, having increased by almost 50% since 2000. Africa’s growing energy demand is inescapable, given demographic trends and development plans.
Africa’s population is projected to almost double by 2050 and increase three-fold by 2100. This will mean even more people needing energy to cook their meals, light their homes, travel, power business and create jobs. Large infrastructural projects such as Agenda 2063’s African Integrated High-Speed Rail Network and the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa's Trans-African Highway Network are already underway, translating into increased energy needs.
In industrialised countries where populations are stagnating or declining, and energy consumption and access levels are already high, there is little need to expand the energy supply, leaving governments the policy space to focus on a low-carbon transition. In Africa, the need to expand the energy supply is pressing and inescapable. Without rapid progress, the continent will not realise the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or Agenda 2063. Renewables represent a key component of addressing the energy gap The potential of renewable electricity in Africa is undoubtedly vast, and African governments have already recognised the role they can play in addressing the continent’s energy deficit.
Between 2010 and 2019, African governments more than tripled public investment in renewables, up to $47.0 billion from $13.4 billion the previous decade. Renewable projects are underway such as the African Development Bank's 'Desert to Power Initiative', a solar project which by 2030 should increase existing capacity of the eleven countries in the Sahel region by almost 40% and bring electricity access to 90 million people for the first time.
A Guest Editorial