The right of African countries to use their natural gas reserves should be reflected in any agreement at the COP27 climate talks, the president of the African Development Bank told Reuters, even as some nations push to reduce use of the fuel. .
Reaching an agreement on fossil fuels is one of the main sticking points in the talks, and some countries, including India, want to phase out the use of all such fuels, including gas, the sources said.
A preliminary document from the conference hosts arrived late Monday and made no mention of fossil fuels. While it forms the basis of any agreement, the most important final wording has yet to be worked out.
“Africa must have natural gas to complement its renewable energy,” African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina said on the sidelines of the UN conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt on Friday.
Even if Africa were to triple its natural gas production from current levels, its contribution to global emissions would only increase by 0.67%, he said.
With the world currently on track to miss its climate goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average by mid-century, one focus of the conference has been for countries to accelerate their switch to energy. renewable.
The AfDB is seeking to raise $25 billion through the African Adaptation Acceleration Programme, the largest ever created by any comparable lender, Adesina said. It has also put 85% of its investments between 2016-2021 in renewable energy.
Still, natural gas is needed to balance electricity supplies given the intermittent nature of renewables, he said.
“We must recognize the special nature of Africa. Africa has the highest level of energy poverty in the world,” Adesina said.
“My interest is how Africa uses natural gas as part of its energy mix to provide electricity to 600 million people who don’t have access to electricity today.”
Since the industrial revolution, developed countries have emitted about 2,400 gigatons of climate-damaging carbon emissions, leaving only about 400 gigatons if the world wants to hit its temperature target, Adesina said.
“So Africa, which didn’t really emit, shouldn’t be penalized now for not being able to use even a little bit of gas to supplement its natural resources.”
Source: Reuters
