{"id":348560,"date":"2024-10-23T11:15:48","date_gmt":"2024-10-23T09:15:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=348560"},"modified":"2024-10-23T11:15:50","modified_gmt":"2024-10-23T09:15:50","slug":"energy-justice-in-africa-energy-exceptionalism-please","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=348560","title":{"rendered":"Energy Justice in Africa? Energy Exceptionalism Please"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Master Resource<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Robert Bradley Jr.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cSocial justice\u201d demands energy freedom and energy exceptionalism for the poorest of the poor. Today, tomorrow, and yesterday.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

A recent release from CarbonBrief, \u201cHow a UK government-backed Company has Fueled Gas Power in Africa<\/a>,\u201d reported that \u201ca little-known company that is majority-owned by a UK government development body and backed by UK aid money has been pouring investment into gas power across Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

British International Investment<\/a> (BII)\u2019s Globeleq<\/a> has 1,120 MW of gas-fired generation in Cameroon, Ivory Coast, and Tanzania to serve the electricity impoverished. UK climate activists are up in arms (\u201cdon\u2019t gas Africa\u201d), urging divestment from fossil fuels. \u201cLet them have wind and solar\u201d is the mantra, as if these dilute, intermittent substitutes were not expensive and unreliable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Globeleq is adding new gas capacity to keep its portfolio at 85 percent natural gas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

BII says<\/a> that in countries such as Mozambique, where only around<\/a> 40% of people have access to electricity, gas power is \u201cessential\u201d. It argues that such nations often lack \u201cbaseload<\/a>\u201d power provided by gas, which can allow the integration of more renewables.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

CarbonBrief continues:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

This position has been supported<\/a> by many African governments, with many advocating<\/a> for the development of their own gas reserves. Many have noted<\/a> that Africa currently produces a tiny share of the planet\u2019s emissions and is home to nearly 600 million people without electricity access<\/a>. Scaling up fossil fuels could be a route to development and wealth, they say.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, the UK government should divest itself of Globeleq and otherwise stay out of African energy politics. But what about the moral case for the best energies to address poverty, a theme that has inspired Paul Driessen (author, Eco-Imperialism<\/a>) to note:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

The ideological environmental movement imposes the views of mostly wealthy, comfortable Americans and Europeans on mostly poor, desperate Africans, Asians and Latin Americans. It violates these people\u2019s most basic human rights, denying them economic opportunities, the chance for better lives, the right to rid their countries of diseases that were vanquished long ago in Europe and the United States.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

And from the African Energy Chamber<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

African producers have not and will not agree to phasing out fossil fuels. Unlike the rest of the developed world, the continent has not yet had the chance to transform its economies through oil and gas. In order to develop, grow and address concerns such as energy poverty and industrialization, oil and gas will need to remain central for years to come.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Also consider the idea of Laszlo Varro<\/a>, vice-president of global business environment at Shell, who told<\/a> his 20,000+ social media followers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

A very interesting debate: British green activists protest against gas fired power generation investment in Mozambique and Ivory Coast. They come from a society which has a per capita energy consumption around 10 times most African countries. Their privileged prosperity is based on a national wealth accumulated from past fossil fuel use and colonial exploitation. Now they are upset that former colonial nations are using their own gas resources to power development.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Varro suggests this exercise for the energy privileged:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Mozambique and Ivory Coast should create a special, green activist internship visa. This will enable British activists to come for a year and get a work permit. However, this would be valid only for the non-electrified regions of the country, not to the usual development aid practice of Western experts living in an air conditioned compound powered by a diesel generator in the backyard. The special, fossil free work permit will enable the activists to fetch water from the well in a bucket, without electric pumps and steel pipes. They will be able to tend the land and grow food without diesel tractors and gas based fertilizer, cook on an open fire, store the food without refrigerators and bring the produce to a market in a pushcart. They should definitely get a solar mobile charger so that they can share how happy their life is without natural gas in social media.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Laszlo Varro added:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Needless to say the UK government should have an open minded dialogue with those activists who completed a one year internship and still believe that African countries should not develop natural gas. In addition, if any democratically elected African government expresses concerns about the harmful effects of developing their domestic gas resources and using them to expand electricity supply then UK foreign policy should pay a respectful attention.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Indeed. \u201cSocial justice\u201d demands energy freedom and energy exceptionalism for the poorest of the poor. Today, tomorrow, and yesterday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A recent release from CarbonBrief, \u201cHow a UK government-backed Company has Fueled Gas Power in Africa,\u201d reported that \u201ca little-known company that is majority-owned by a UK government development body and backed by UK aid money has been pouring investment into gas power across Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":348566,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691820276,691831074,691830864,691823025],"class_list":{"0":"post-348560","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-africa","9":"tag-energy-politics","10":"tag-gas-power","11":"tag-uk-climate-activists","13":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/00Screenshot-2024-10-23-111440.png?fit=1055%2C952&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1sFW","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":223414,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=223414","url_meta":{"origin":348560,"position":0},"title":"The Lies Have It","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"12\/10\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Let\u2019s look at the two key problems with that claim.","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/image-539.png?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/image-539.png?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/image-539.png?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/image-539.png?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":290614,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=290614","url_meta":{"origin":348560,"position":1},"title":"The Sins of the\u00a0Fathers","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"09\/12\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"CarbonBrief is at it again","rel":"","context":"In \"China\"","block_context":{"text":"China","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=china"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0tornado-destruction-618718_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0tornado-destruction-618718_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0tornado-destruction-618718_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0tornado-destruction-618718_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0tornado-destruction-618718_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":270253,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=270253","url_meta":{"origin":348560,"position":2},"title":"Domestic oil and gas production would unlock funding for energy transition, fossil fuel firms tell\u00a0government","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"29\/07\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Climate dogmatists can\u2019t bear such ideas, but money doesn\u2019t grow on trees. 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