The G7 leaders are seeking to boost global oil and natural gas production once more in the face of an energy crisis. The G7’s clarion cry is long overdue for African nations, who have long requested assistance for the growth of their energy businesses. Despite this, the U.S. Strategy Toward Sub-Saharan Africa, recently released, continues to disapprove of the majority of conventional energy projects on the continent. This artificial limitation is a price on American diplomatic relations and ought to be lifted. The Biden administration should resume the once bipartisan strategy of supporting “all-of-the-above” energy development in Africa for the benefit of the United States and our allies abroad.
Prioritizing progressive climate orthodoxy over addressing the realities of the world’s energy demand is a key component of the Biden campaign’s Africa strategy. The present administration made a promise to stop international financing for fossil fuels shortly after taking office, especially in bilateral and multilateral fora, while rejecting practically all exploration and extraction projects through multilateral development banks. However, the upheaval brought on by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has now led to a number of G7 calls, albeit only in the near term, for increased oil and natural gas production. Similar to this, the Africa policy of the Biden administration supports wider adoption of renewable energy sources while offering only tepid assistance for “gas-to-power infrastructure.”
This caveated and conditional support for energy expansion in Africa sits uncomfortably with the fact that nearly half of sub-Saharan Africa’s population does not have access to regular electricity. To rectify this, as part of the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals, the United Nations (UN) set the ambitious target of achieving “access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all” by 2030. Yet, at the current rate of expansion, more than 40 percent of sub-Saharan Africa’s population is still expected to lack reliable access to electricity by then.
Just a few short years ago, eradicating energy poverty in Africa garnered a bipartisan majority in Congress. In 2016, President Barack Obama signed the Electrify Africa Act into law to promote an “all-of-the-above energy development strategy for sub-Saharan Africa.” Note that the Obama-Biden administration validated this position even after the Paris Climate Agreement was signed in late 2015. Recognizing that each African country has unique energy needs and varying preferences for a mix of renewable and fossil fuels, the law endorsed greater private sector involvement and market-based reforms in local energy industries.
Africans remain best placed to assess their energy needs. Various local leaders are making it increasingly difficult to overlook this fact. Nigeria’s Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, warned that an international ban on financing natural gas would “crush Africa.” Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni similarly cautioned that imposing a reliance upon intermittent solar and wind would “force poverty onto Africa.” Meanwhile, earlier this year, ten African governments called for natural gas to serve as a transition fuel until greener options are technically and economically feasible in an African context.
