At the recent UK-Africa summit held in London, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in his opening speech made a remarkable charm offensive commitment on what he envisages as the role of the UK in shaping the future of energy landscape in Africa. The British government will no longer provide any new direct official development assistance, investment, export credit or trade promotion for thermal coal mining or coal power plants overseas. He alluded to the fact that no penny of UK taxpayers’ money will be directly invested in digging up coal or burning it for electricity, but instead they are committed to supporting the transition to low and zero-carbon alternatives.
This is a strong message to the proponents of dirty, outdated fossil fuels like coal that are being propagated in Africa. The consequences of such investments are dire and cannot be overstated.
The irony of this commitment, however, lies in leading British banks who continue to offer financial assistance through corporate loans to coal investment firms. Read more…
