"COP28 negotiators are bowing to pressure from the West, stating that Africa is open to a fossil fuel phase-out approach," the South Africa-based African energy sector lobby group said in a statement released this Friday. Wednesday.
The AEC "as the voice of the African energy sector, makes it clear that this is not true: African producers, even those established as emerging ones, are not willing to give up" these resources, he added.
The organization released this message shortly after the more than 190 countries represented at COP28, which took place over the last two weeks in Dubai, today adopted the "Global Balance", the agreement with which they aspire to reinforce their climate action against warming. global.
This historic pact, approved by consensus in plenary, calls on States to begin a transition away from fossil fuels, "in an orderly and equitable manner, accelerating action in this critical decade, in order to achieve the goal of zero net emissions in 2050, according to science."
Opening a path to abandoning these types of energy was the priority of this summit for the European Union (EU) and other industrialized economies, as well as for countries very vulnerable to the climate crisis, many of them located in Africa.
However, the AEC lamented that although the African negotiating group rejected a complete phase-out of fossil fuels, it "affirmed that the continent would be ready for a phase-down approach".
"Instead of fighting for the lesser evil, why not defend the continent's right to maintain oil and gas in its long-term energy use? Why not defend economic development?", asked that entity.
The AEC considered that "oil and gas will be the backbone of Africa's economic growth" and that their reduction could affect the development of countries such as Angola, Libya or Nigeria.
"African producers have not and will not accept the phase-out of fossil fuels. Unlike the rest of the developed world, the continent has not yet had the opportunity to transform its economies through oil and gas," said NJ Ayuk, executive chairman of AEC.
This position contradicts that of African environmental activists and organizations, who have called for ensuring the continent's energy transition.
