Keypoints
- NJ Ayuk: Africa must use its hydrocarbons to grow
- Rejects Western calls to halt gas exploration
- Urges COP30 to respect Africa’s energy sovereignty
WHEN The Guardian’s Fiona Harvey and Matthew Taylor recently wrote that Africa should stop gas exploration and instead focus on renewables, they echoed a familiar and troubling sentiment. Their argument — that the continent must abandon its petroleum potential to fight climate change — reflects a broader trend among wealthy nations and green advocacy groups that insist on setting Africa’s energy agenda.
For years, Western governments and environmental organisations have pressured African countries to ‘keep it in the ground’, as if development were optional. Yet, the African Energy Chamber’s position has remained firm: while we recognise the urgency of reducing emissions and addressing climate change, Africa has the sovereign right to decide when and how to transition.
Oil and gas, when responsibly managed, are essential to unlocking Africa’s economic transformation. They offer the foundation for energy security, job creation, and industrial growth — the same advantages that allowed the West to prosper during its own fossil-fuel-driven industrialisation.
At COP30 in Brazil, African leaders must deliver one clear message: we will produce every drop of our hydrocarbons, and we will determine the timing and terms of our energy transition.
Oil and gas, when responsibly managed, are essential to unlocking Africa’s economic transformation. They offer the foundation for energy security, job creation, and industrial growth — the same advantages that allowed the West to prosper during its own fossil-fuel-driven industrialisation
Africa’s small footprint, global double standards
The call for Africa to abandon hydrocarbons ignores one critical fact: the continent contributes minimally to global emissions. In 2023, worldwide CO₂ emissions reached 37.12bn tonnes. Of that, China produced 11.47bn tonnes — almost eight times more than all of Africa combined, which emitted just 1.45bn tonnes or 4 percent of the global total.
Africa’s per capita emissions are the world’s lowest. The average African releases one tonne of CO₂ per year; the average American emits that much every month. Yet it is Africans who are now being asked to sacrifice their development for a crisis largely caused by others.
Andrew Kamau of Columbia University’s Centre on Global Energy Policy captured the reality well: ‘The story of Africa or the developing world is not really an energy transition story, it’s a development story.’ He rightly asked whether any country has ever industrialised using only wind and solar — and where the much-promised financing for Africa’s clean energy push has gone.
Despite lofty commitments from Western leaders, international climate finance remains inadequate. The continent cannot transition on rhetoric. It needs tangible investment and time — time that Western nations already had and continue to enjoy.
Africa’s resources must work for Africans
It is unrealistic — and unjust — to expect African nations to forgo their natural resources. Oil and gas revenues can power the infrastructure, education, and manufacturing needed to lift hundreds of millions out of poverty. The problem is not the resources themselves, but how they are managed.
Some Africans question whether hydrocarbons have brought more harm than good. But just as we continue to refine our use of the Internet — a tool that has caused social and ethical challenges — we can also reform how we use fossil fuels. The goal is not to abandon them, but to manage them wisely.
Currently, 600 million Africans lack access to electricity, while millions more rely on unsafe fuels for cooking. For them, the conversation is not about carbon budgets — it’s about light, refrigeration, and the ability to work after dark.
By 2050, Africa will represent about 11 percent of the global liquefied natural gas (LNG) market and the world’s second-fastest-growing gas supplier. Harnessing this potential is key to eradicating energy poverty and creating a foundation for renewable growth.
Mohamed Hamel, Secretary General of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, described the idea that Africa should ignore its gas reserves as ‘misguided’. ‘A prosperous Africa will be more capable of protecting its environment,’ he noted. ‘The right of Africa to develop its vast natural resources must be preserved.’
From pressure to partnership
What Africa seeks is partnership, not paternalism. The West must stop dictating deadlines and start collaborating respectfully. True partnership means recognising Africa’s right to use its resources while supporting efforts to diversify into cleaner technologies at a realistic pace.
At previous climate summits, I stressed that Africa’s transition is inevitable — but it must be just and homegrown. That means policies built on empathy, cooperation, and economic realism, not guilt or coercion.
African leaders who expand exploration are not being manipulated or greedy. They are acting strategically to strengthen local content laws, attract investment, and build industries that can sustain livelihoods. Yet, outsiders often dismiss these policies as backward or shortsighted, ignoring the developmental logic behind them.
This misrepresentation only deepens Africa’s determination. We will continue to assert our right to develop. We will not allow external narratives to shame us into poverty.
A just transition, on Africa’s timeline
Africa’s future energy system will include renewables, but it cannot leap there overnight. The continent’s path must reflect its economic realities and social priorities. The just transition we seek is one that uplifts Africans, not one that satisfies Western environmental politics.
To transition fairly, Africa must first generate prosperity. Oil and gas revenues can build the infrastructure needed for solar, wind, and hydrogen to thrive later. Economic empowerment is the only sustainable route to decarbonisation.
As African leaders head to COP30, they must stand united on this principle: we will use our oil and gas to fuel development, reduce poverty, and secure energy access. Our energy transition will happen — but it will happen on Africa’s terms, at Africa’s pace, and for Africa’s people.
That is not defiance. It is dignity. It is justice. And it is the only path to a truly sustainable future.
NJ Ayuk is the Executive Chairman, African Energy Chamber (https://EnergyChamber.org/).
