Friday, March 29, 2024

Why Africa’s Energy Future Matters To The World

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By Esi Africa

Africa is set to become increasingly influential in shaping global energy trends over the next two decades as it undergoes the largest process of urbanization the world has ever seen, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency.

Africa Energy Outlook 2019 finds that current policy and investment plans in African countries are not enough to meet the energy needs of the continent’s young and rapidly growing population.

Today, 600 million people in Africa do not have access to electricity and 900 million lack access to clean cooking facilities.

The number of people living in Africa’s cities is expected to expand by 600 million over the next two decades, much higher than the increase experienced by China’s cities during the country’s 20-year economic and energy boom.

Africa’s overall population is set to exceed 2 billion before 2040, accounting for half of the global increase over that period. These profound changes will drive the continent’s economic growth, infrastructure development and, in turn, energy demand, which is projected to rise 60 per cent to around 1,320 million tonnes of oil equivalent in 2040, based on current policies and plans.

The new report is the IEA’s most comprehensive and detailed work to date on energy across the African continent.

Key report findings

Current plans would leave 530 million people on the continent still without access to electricity in 2030. But with the right policies, it could reach that target while also becoming the first continent to develop its economy mainly through the use of modern energy sources…

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