COP28 must set stage for fossil fuel phase-out

BY AMOS WEMANYA

By calling the bluff on fossil fuel giants at the Climate Ambition Summit recently, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres set the stage for the world to boldly call out pretenders and apologists for the oil industry.

Mr Guterres’ remarks that oil companies must stop their ‘‘naked greed’’ is a game changer for the climate regime. The veil behind which these fossil fuel multinationals have been hiding has now been exposed. That fossil fuels have caused climate change is an obvious scientific fact. That it has taken world leaders more than 30 years to acknowledge this is a tragedy.

But even as humanity acknowledges the need to transition from fossil fuels to clean energy forms, fossil fuel barons are still hellbent on locking the Global South into a cycle of dependence on dirty energy. In Africa, the fossil fuel regime has promised the public increased revenues, jobs, and energy access through extraction. The experiences of communities on the frontline of fossil fuel extraction, however, tell a different story.

Extraction on the continent is a story of dishonoured promises, dispossession, displacement, pollution and violation of basic human rights. It is the tragic story of more than half a billion Africans lacking access to electricity and about a billion without clean cooking.

Africa is rising and a new and inevitable renewable energy revolution is happening in all corners of the continent. From Egypt to Namibia, South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Sierra Leone, Africans are charting a new form of development powered by renewable energy.

This was well captured by the ambitious Africa Climate Summit outcomes that envision increasing Africa’s renewable energy generation capacity from 56 Giga Watts (GW) in 2022 to at least 300 Giga Watts (GW) by 2030. Indeed, Kenya has an even bigger ambition. The country hopes to attain 100 percent renewable energy in its electricity mix by 2030.

Kenya also hopes to attain universal energy access by the same year. For this vision to be realised, however, both technical and financial resources are vital. The United Nations estimates that it will cost about $600 billion to meet the African ambition of increasing its renewable energy capacity to 300 GW by 2030. This calls for international cooperation and support.

There is, therefore, an urgent need to establish frameworks that foster international cooperation in helping Africa meet its renewable energy targets and face the costs of 100 per cent renewable energy access are much needed. Tools such as a fossil fuel treaty would help Africa to mobilise resources to finance Africa’s transition. This would also allow fossil fuel-producing countries to diversify their economies and incomes.

Recent climate meetings, including the Africa Climate Summit and the UN Climate Ambition Summit, have set an unprecedented consensus on the need to tackle the real cause of the climate crisis. To keep a heavy foot on the pedal of the anti-fossil fuel campaign, the outcome of COP28 must include decisions to stop the expansion of fossil fuels.

So far, the biggest barrier to addressing the climate crisis and facilitating a transition from fossil fuels has been inadequate global solidarity. Without international cooperation, it will take us more years to meet our ambitions. It will also be more expensive. We are already experiencing the impacts of international climate inaction. From crippling cyclones to dreadful droughts and ferocious floods, climate disasters have grown more frequent and severe.

We cannot afford to drag our feet anymore. Instead, we must urgently renew international agreements such as the fossil fuel treaty to support sustainable development pathways. These pathways must not be based on fossil fuel extraction, exclusion, and exploitation of poor nations by rich countries eager to maintain their economic and political influence.

An opportunity beckons for Africa to lead the world in the transition to 100 percent renewables. Countries such as Kenya have set ambitious goals and have the capacity in their youthful population and abundant solar, wind and geothermal resources to drive this ambition.

Amos leads Just Energy Transition at climate think tank Power Shift Africa