'Do not gas Africa', activists to Heads of State ahead of summit

Delegates attend the opening session of the 33rd African Union Summit at its headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on February 9, 2020. [AP photo] Civil society groups are up in arms over a proposal by the African Union's technical committee to make fossil fuels an integral part of Africa's energy transition goal. The activists claim the committee's position has been hurriedly prepared, yet is being rushed for adoption by African Heads of State at the 36th regular session of the African Union Assembly. The session takes place in Addis Ababa in the next two days. Heads of state from all 55 African Union members are expected to attend. Through their "Do Not Gas Africa" campaign the activists oppose a proposal by the African Union's technical committee to make fossil fuels an integral part of Africa's short, medium and long-term energy mix. In an open letter to all African heads of state and ministers, signed by 35 movements and civil society groups from across Africa, they urged the leaders to reject the proposed 'common position'. According to the activists, the "common position", developed by a committee made up of national energy and transportation officials has been prepared hurriedly and without adequate consultation with scientists, experts and officials responsible for climate change and, as a result, lacks a proper scientific or evidential basis. Exploration of oil and gas deposits in the deep ocean. [iStockphoto] They stated that despite focusing on "energy access" and "energy transition," the report makes no specific recommendations to scale up renewable energy production or to provide energy to 600 million Africans who currently lack access. Instead, it prioritises the interests of the fossil fuel industry and European governments by seeking to expand fossil fuel infrastructure, production and exports. Further, they said that the report is inconsistent with the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the International Energy Agency and the UN Environment Programme. "It lacks critical analysis about the causes of energy poverty, the energy transition required, long-term climate policy scenarios, the associated risks of stranded assets, and the threat of fossil fuel production to sustainable development," read the letter in part. Activists are concerned that the recommendation included in the proposed "common position" to make fossil fuels a crucial part of the continent's plans will not address the Committee's own aims regarding access to and transition from fossil fuels. They explained that the position is inconsistent with the Paris Agreement's climate target of 1.5 degrees Celsius. This is in contrast to the existing African Common Position on Climate Change, and the goals of COP27. The letter says that increasing global warming is inconsistent with Africa's wider development goals, putting Agenda 2063 and the UN Sustainable Development Goals at risk. AU Commission chief Moussa Faki at a past meeting. [AP photo] This development follows a recent decision by the European Union to categorize fossil gas and nuclear energy initiatives as "green", allowing them to qualify for economic loans and subsidies. They claimed the underlying reason for this is the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with Europe now pivoting to Africa to achieve its own energy security. "We believe there is a risk Africa's energy investments will be skewed into producing fossil fuels for European consumption, and not energy access or transition for Africans, "they said. The pursuit of gas in Africa, in particular, is reckless and short-sighted. Directing scarce resources towards fossil fuels will result in abandoned assets and crippled economies. This is in addition to jeopardizing potential investments in inexpensive, readily available, and highly necessary renewable energy sources for the people. "Rather than providing Europe with more climate-damaging fossil fuels, Africa's development agenda and the climate emergency call on us to rapidly shift away from harmful fossil fuel-based technologies towards a renewable energy future," they said. The activists are pushing to a transparent and meaningful dialogue with citizens and policy-makers across the continent to build a shared African narrative and agenda to tackle the linked challenges of climate, energy and development. Further, they want a well-developed science- and evidence-based African common position on energy access and transition that prioritizes Africa's urgent need to move away from harmful fossil fuels towards a transformed energy system that is clean, renewable, democratic and actually serves its people.

'Do not gas Africa', activists to Heads of State ahead of summit

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