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Let’s not repeat the mistakes of the past in Africa’s energy transition

Excerpt from energyvoice.com

Africa has suffered in the past as a result of European ambitions and this must not be repeated as the world works out how best to tackle climate change, participants at an Aberdeen University event said.

Professor Yinka Omorogbe said climate change and energy poverty were “the world’s two most pressing problems”.

Colonialism intended solely to focus on the needs and interests of the colonising powers, she continued.

As a result, colonialism “effectively truncated” development in Africa. “We have ended up with leaders who have not been able to take us to where we want to be. We need to rise above history,” the professor said.

Sub-Saharan Africa has nearly 600 million people who lack access to electricity. While this has rightly garnered attention, Omorogbe highlighted the often overlooked impact of changing cooking fuels.

“COVID-19 has worsened the fate of poor people and energy poverty. It has thrown people down the energy ladder. People who had been using LPG have now been forced to shift into kerosene and firewood,” she said.

 

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