By Prince Kurupati
Global leaders as well as captains of industry most of whom are in the energy and finance sectors gathered in Dubai a few days ago at the UN Climate Summit (Cop28). The Summit measured the gains that have been recorded so far globally concerning the transition from fossil fuels to clean sources of energy as well as the global decarbonisation process. The Summit also allowed great minds in the energy and finance sectors to share ideas as well as come up with resolutions on how best to meet the objective of combating climate change and its related negative effects.
In attendance at the UN Climate Summit representing and propagating Africa’s energy issues, desires and aspirations was the Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber (AEC) NJ Ayuk. Speaking in an interview with Arise News after Cop 28, NJ Ayuk said the Summit was a huge success. The AEC Executive Chairman dismissed the lingering doubt which had engulfed the African continent relating to the perceived success/failure of the Summit.
“It was a big victory for the oil and gas and the fossil fuel industry, contrary to what most people thought. We have to be very careful when we read what happened at Cop, the words phase out fossil fuels never came out in any of the agreements,” NJ Ayuk said.
While acknowledging that Cop 28 did not resolve to outlaw the use of fossil fuels, the AEC Executive Chairman said that there is undue pressure coming from developed nations to force Africa to fast-track the transition from fossil fuels to alternative clean energy sources. NJ Ayuk said that the developed nations ought to remember that their industrialisation policies and projects were backed by energy from fossil fuels hence they need to allow Africa to do such albeit guided by energy industry best practices.
Besides proposing what Africa needs to do to help in the global decarbonisation commitment, NJ Ayuk said that developed countries need to look first at what they can do on their own to make the world less warm. He said that 3 billion people mostly from the developing world consume less energy than “an American refrigerator” every day. This therefore shows that the developed world needs to not propose what others can do but rather, do what is necessary for the betterment of the world.
“And we have to say those that have used fossil fuels to drive up development and become rich and wealthy, they should not be asking poor people, especially in this continent, to carry the burden and pay for that. They need to own up to their responsibility,” NJ Ayuk said.
Moving over to what Africa needs, NJ Ayuk said that the continent needs to ditch the idea of waiting for a saviour to come save it. he said no saviour is coming to do the needful. If the continent is to achieve its energy objective of ending energy poverty by 2030, then the continent needs to come up with African solutions to African problems. Using the example from the popular Hollywood film Black Panther, NJ Ayuk said the fictional country of Wakanda was saved by the black panther but unfortunately, “the Black Panther is not coming to save us this time. We have to do this ourselves”.
If success is to be recorded when seeking and implementing African solutions to African problems. NJ Ayuk proposed that Africa speak as one on the global stage. He said Africa is currently fragmented and the just-ended UN Climate Summit exposed this. He said that African nations at Cop 28 “were only interested in talking about their minerals” and marketing their countries. There wasn’t any unity demonstrated and this is something which takes Africa back and hinders it from achieving lasting and sustainable solutions.
The AEC Executive Chairman also called upon the regional grouping African Union (AU) to desist from relying on foreign aid. He said that this dependency culture makes it impossible for the group to speak authoritatively on issues affecting Africa as it wouldn’t want to bite the hands that feeds it. “I think it’s time the African Union step up and stop taking aid from Western countries that define and drive its policy. We are seeing that if we continue to take aid because we want to pay bureaucrats and African Union diplomats their salaries, we will never have an African voice that truly represents what is good for our people,” NJ Ayuk said.
More reason to ditch the saviour mentality and seek African solutions to African problems as relayed by NJ Ayuk is the failure of developed countries to honour their financial commitments which relate to fighting climate change. The AEC Executive Chairman said in the past, leaders from developed countries committed $1.4 trillion for climate finance. They have however failed to meet and satisfy their commitment even though they have the capacity to do so. At the just-ended UN Climate Summit, they made another pledge of $6 trillion for climate finance.
Commenting on the new $6 trillion climate finance pledge, NJ Ayuk said “They didn’t pay a dime. Right now, it’s $1.4 trillion. If you’ve not paid $1.4 trillion, where are you going to find $6 trillion? So, for Africa, we have to have an African strategy to look at and deal with that ourselves.”
Instead of just promising lots and lots of funds to Africa for climate change initiatives, NJ Ayuk advised developed nations to use that money to “capture, clean up the mess in the air so we can produce our hydrocarbons and develop our people.”
For now, and in the future, NJ Ayuk called upon Africa to drill and drill for more oil and gas saying not doing so and listening to the clean energy sermons from the developed nations would just continue to extend the developmental gap between Africa and the developed nations. He said America is not stopping any time soon its oil and gas exploration and she is going to produce 12.8 million barrels a day. Norway on the other hand straight from the Cop 28 has already earmarked licensing more prospectors in the oil and gas industry.
In his concluding remarks, NJ Ayuk said he shares the same vision as that of the African Petroleum Producers Organisation which through its Secretary General Dr Omar Faruk said it will not phase out fossil fuel in a radical way.
