African countries will push gas as a transition fuel as they move away from coal, and as an energy alternative, at COP28 at the end of the year in the United Arab Emirates.
He will call on rich countries to pledge more money so that the continent can successfully transition to cleaner energy. This comes after African countries raised the issue that many rich countries are unable to fulfill the promises made at COP27, and continue to undermine, while putting pressure on African countries to reduce their use of fossil fuels.
This was the sentiment that came from delegates, including Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe and panellists, at the Africa Energy Indaba held in Cape Town on Wednesday.
He said that Africa’s contribution to climate change is only 3.8% but it faces the most severe impacts from the natural disasters it causes.
“[COP28] going to be an energy COP. And the sooner we face this reality [most] emissions are man-made and come from energy, so you know that’s the most important aspect of how we deal with climate change,” he said.
Allow gas to grow
Full-time member of South Africa’s National Energy Regulator Nomfundo Maseti said gas usage should not be reduced.
“Africa must be allowed to industrialize and be allowed to use gas before moving to renewable energy.
“We must be practical and agree that the journey to net zero will not happen overnight. We must look at the costs and the impact on consumers. We must also give the gas industry the opportunity to grow,” he said.
Supporting Maseti’s views, Jaco Human, executive director at the Industrial Gas Users Association of South Africa said it is important to have power for infrastructure. He added that policy makers should have a plan for existing resources and focus on helping build Africa before exporting to Western countries.
Duane Mouton, representative of Coega Development Corporation, said that Africa should be allowed to use gas as an alternative, if renewable energy fails.
Humans add that Africa needs to get rid of dirty fuels and that’s where the gas is. America has taken 10 years to stabilize its energy and gas consumption while transitioning to renewable energy. “Africa should get the same opportunity to do the same thing,” he said.
Farai Chireshe, of the World Wide Fund for Nature, says increasing renewable energy capacity is the best way to stop load shedding. Many households need to get solar energy on their rooftops. “Long term, we should explore green hydrogen. Hydrogen is better than gas.”
Africa must be given space for transition
On Tuesday, Mantashe said Africa must be given the space to transition from high carbon use to low carbon use as quickly and cost-effectively as possible.
He said that the voice of the African people must be heard: “This is the voice that says that the production of energy in Africa must be in line with the socio-economic development of Africa. This means that there must be a balance between the demand for energy for socio-economic development and the supply of energy based on low carbon emissions .
“Differences on the pace, scale and method of balancing the transition will remain, but, as African leaders, we must act with determination to solve the complex problems that plague our continent without the pressure of siege to please others. We must be pragmatic in our approach to a future that less emissions,” he said.
Mantashe said the African attitude is to put people at the center of any transition.
“It is good that Africa is united by the principle that the energy transition must be human-centered, taking into account the socio-economic conditions of the communities that will be affected, and taking into account the development needs of Africa.
He added, “The African continent is well positioned to benefit from a fair energy transition period, given its endowment with mineral deposits suitable for green energy production.”
The COP is frustrated
At COP27 in Egypt last year, one of the few areas of progress was making
“loss and damage” fund to help developing countries deal with climate change.
Many delegates at COP27 expressed their frustration with the focus being too much on the loss and damage caused by climate change and not enough on mitigation by reducing global warming emissions. This should be the focus of the climate discussion but adaptation is also important.
Adaptation refers to how communities deal with climate change. One example is the use of heat-resistant plants and the implementation of a more efficient irrigation system. But a lot of funds are needed to do this.
In an interview with National last week, Germany’s climate envoy Jennifer Morgan said COP28 should refocus on adaptation.
“We can’t talk about the energy transition and not about adaptation. We talk a lot, but we haven’t met the talk and I hope this COP will attract financial attention and get some actionable plans that can take us forward,” said Morgan.
On Wednesday, panelists said that the COP27 conference had not achieved much success in terms of mitigation because it was unable to reach an agreement, for example, on phasing out coal and other fossil fuels or setting the timing of emission peaks. He said the decision by rich countries to return to fossil fuels is hampering efforts to limit the rise in average global temperatures to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
The World Wide Fund for Nature’s Chireshe said the cost of the consequences of climate change will be higher than the world anticipated. He called on countries to ditch all fossil fuels and embrace renewable energy.
Mandisa Nyathi is a fellow climate reporter, funded by the Open Society Foundation for South Africa