1 How to Respond to Energy Transitions in Africa …
5
fuels to meet the growing energy demand, and yet, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued a warning in 2018 that
humanity had just twelve years to limit global warming to below 2 °C.
6
Energy transitions are, therefore focused on the need to address
climate change by shifting from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources.
There is no doubt that fossil fuels have powered the industrialisation and
economic development of many developed countries, and it would only
be fair for developing countries such as those in Africa to benefit from
these resources.
7 However, it is no longer a question of fairness but rather
preparedness. The global efforts to transition to a low-carbon economy
is associated with both positive and negative impacts, and African policymakers have to be well-equipped with effective policies and strategies
to respond to the energy transition and its associated effects. Positively,
a transition to a low-carbon economy presents an opportunity for us to
tackle climate change; new jobs will also be created. However, negatively,
the transition is likely to escalate energy access challenges and poverty on
the African continent, mostly due to reduced levels of finance for fossil
fuel energy projects.
8
The need to tackle climate change and the lowering costs for renewable technology have in recent years made many companies and financial
institutions to question their investment plans in fossil fuels. In Norway,
for instance, there has been a halt in fossil fuel investments. In June 2020,
the Norwegian parliament recommended that the Sovereign wealth fund
sells off more than $10 billion of stocks in companies related to fossil
fuels.
9 This, in practice, implies that the country is shifting from fossil
fuels to clean energy. In this respect, the Wealth Fund can no longer
6 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). 2018. Global Warming of 1.5 °C—A
Special Report. https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/.
7 Nalule, V.R., 2020. Transitioning to a Low-Carbon Economy: Is Africa Ready to Bid Farewell
to Fossil Fuels? In The Palgrave Handbook of Managing Fossil Fuels and Energy Transitions
(pp. 261–286). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
8 Olawuyi, D. 2020. ‘Energy Poverty in the Middle East and North African (MENA) Region:
Divergent Tales and Future Prospects’, in Inigo Del Guayo, Lee Godden, Donald N. United
Nations, Transforming.
9 Forbes: Norway Wealth Fund to Dumb Fossil Fuels Stock. 12 June 2020. Can be
accessed at, https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidnikel/2019/06/12/norway-wealth-fund-to-dumpfossil-fuel-stocks-worth-billions-in-environmental-move/#4dbb5c9748a3.
5
fuels to meet the growing energy demand, and yet, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued a warning in 2018 that
humanity had just twelve years to limit global warming to below 2 °C.
6
Energy transitions are, therefore focused on the need to address
climate change by shifting from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources.
There is no doubt that fossil fuels have powered the industrialisation and
economic development of many developed countries, and it would only
be fair for developing countries such as those in Africa to benefit from
these resources.
7 However, it is no longer a question of fairness but rather
preparedness. The global efforts to transition to a low-carbon economy
is associated with both positive and negative impacts, and African policymakers have to be well-equipped with effective policies and strategies
to respond to the energy transition and its associated effects. Positively,
a transition to a low-carbon economy presents an opportunity for us to
tackle climate change; new jobs will also be created. However, negatively,
the transition is likely to escalate energy access challenges and poverty on
the African continent, mostly due to reduced levels of finance for fossil
fuel energy projects.
8
The need to tackle climate change and the lowering costs for renewable technology have in recent years made many companies and financial
institutions to question their investment plans in fossil fuels. In Norway,
for instance, there has been a halt in fossil fuel investments. In June 2020,
the Norwegian parliament recommended that the Sovereign wealth fund
sells off more than $10 billion of stocks in companies related to fossil
fuels.
9 This, in practice, implies that the country is shifting from fossil
fuels to clean energy. In this respect, the Wealth Fund can no longer
6 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). 2018. Global Warming of 1.5 °C—A
Special Report. https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/.
7 Nalule, V.R., 2020. Transitioning to a Low-Carbon Economy: Is Africa Ready to Bid Farewell
to Fossil Fuels? In The Palgrave Handbook of Managing Fossil Fuels and Energy Transitions
(pp. 261–286). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
8 Olawuyi, D. 2020. ‘Energy Poverty in the Middle East and North African (MENA) Region:
Divergent Tales and Future Prospects’, in Inigo Del Guayo, Lee Godden, Donald N. United
Nations, Transforming.
9 Forbes: Norway Wealth Fund to Dumb Fossil Fuels Stock. 12 June 2020. Can be
accessed at, https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidnikel/2019/06/12/norway-wealth-fund-to-dumpfossil-fuel-stocks-worth-billions-in-environmental-move/#4dbb5c9748a3.