European leaders want to find alternatives to Russian natural gas in Africa, sparking hope among their counterparts in Africa that the invasion of Ukraine may change the relationship between Europe and Africa.
Poland's president traveled to Africa in order to get gas deals. In May, the German chancellor came seeking the same thing and in recent weeks told the German Parliament that Europe's energy crisis necessitated working with countries where there is the possibility of developing new gas fields.
The war is a U-turn according to the energy adviser to the president. There has been a change in the narrative.
There are new or fast-tracked energy projects due to the flurry of European overtures.
A natural-gas terminal operated by Eni, one of the largest energy companies in the world, is expected to begin supplying gas to Europe in a matter of days. A new terminal is being discussed with the government.
In recent weeks, officials from the Democratic Republic of Congo have embarked on an international marketing tour to draw attention to new oil and gas blocks they have put up for auction. Climate activists have denounced the auction because it includes oil blocks that overlap a gorilla sanctuary as well as fragile peatlands that store immense amounts of carbon dioxide.
African leaders lamented that it had taken a war thousands of miles away in Ukraine to give them bargaining power for energy deals, and that they saw a double standard. Europe used coal and other dirtier fuels for hundreds of years to drive an age of empire-building.
Their main complaint is that less developed nations should be free to burn more gas in the future because their citizens deserve higher standards of living and better access to basic services. African leaders say that European and international lenders have made it too expensive.
European leaders seem to preach to Africans about reducing carbon dioxide emissions while providing little of the necessary financing to help build green energy alternatives, all while still emitting far more than Africa.
Amani Abou-Zeid is the African Union's commissioner for energy and infrastructure. We're trying to stay alive. Instead, we are being neglected.
A recent political cartoon by the Tanzanian artist Gado was shared on social media and captured that frustration after John Kerry spoke at an environmental conference.
The cartoon shows Mr. Kerry standing at a podium and delivering a remark that reflects the lecture many African leaders feel they have been receiving from Western counterparts. He smiles next to the American flags. Mother Nature doesn't know where the emissions come from. All of us are to blame for this.
Clouds of pollution blew out of his mouth as he spoke.
Mr. Kerry noted Africa's small contribution to emissions in the speech and the world's interest in addressing climate change. He has said that African countries have a right to use fossil fuels.
The argument by some African officials is that natural gas, more affordable and cleaner than oil and coal, should serve as a transitional fuel for the continent to bridge the gap to renewable energy like wind or solar.
The atmosphere could handle some new fossil fuel plants in developing nations if the world's 20 largest economies transitioned away from dirty energy, according to Mr. Kerry.
Western governments want to promote growth in renewable energy in less developed countries through a transition called a just transition. The United States, Britain, Germany, France, and the European Union pledged $8.5 billion in grants and loans to help South Africa transition away from coal.
It was a rare occurrence. Western investment in renewable energy in Africa has been less than in fossil fuels.
The hope in African capitals is that the financing of gas facilities will be used at home, not just for export. There are huge stakes.
The growth of industries that create jobs has been stifled by energy poverty. More than 600 million Africans do not have access to power and nearly a billion use firewood and charcoal to heat their homes and cook.
According to the International Energy Agency, it could take just $25 billion a year to bring electricity to all African homes by the year 2030.
Climate change experts say that Western concern over African countries burning more gas at home in the future is unwarranted. Africa's contribution to global emissions would increase to 3.5 percent from 3 percent if all known gas reserves are developed, according to a projection by the International Energy Agency.
Outside of the biggest emitters (coal dependent South Africa, as well as the established oil and gas producers of North Africa) the 47 other African countries combined emit less than some of Europe's smaller economies. Western investments in gas are increasing again.
According to studies from the government of Britain, the best way to lower energy costs is to shift away from fossil fuels. President Biden said in August that he would resume selling oil and gas leases. The Group of 7, an international club of major industrialized democracies, watered down a pledge to stop funding fossil fuel projects abroad.
African leaders say that acknowledging the double standard is just the beginning. Europe needs to finance African gas projects quickly, not just with an eye toward exports to Europe.
The president of the African Development Bank said that they need to move quickly. Without gas, even Europe's energy transition was impossible. It's reality.
Without an influx of finance from Europe, projects could take decades to get started.
Europe has been able to replace most of their Russian gas supply with imports from Norway, North Africa and the US. Many of Europe's gas needs are predicted to be fulfilled by those countries as well as the world's largest gas facility by the year 2025.
With the flurry of visits to Africa from European leaders, some of the projects come with significant hurdles.
Italy's Eni, which is partially state-owned, bought a floating natural gas platform for more than half a billion dollars. After the war, company executives and government officials began to fast track the project to deliver gas by next year. The company plans to double its imports from Algeria by the year 2024.
Even though an insurgency in the country's north continues to threaten a large energy project there, executives from the company are discussing a second floating terminal. It's quicker to set up an offshore platform.
A spokeswoman for an oil company said that there was new urgentness with the war. The shift to new gas sources was years in the making.
A deal has not yet been reached during the German chancellor's visit to the country. B.P. and Kosmos Energy are working with the Senegalese government to develop a gas field off its coast.
The war has resurrected talks on a long-dormant trans-Saharan gas project that would supply Europe with Nigerian gas via a second country on the German chancellor's itinerary.
One of the most populous and least-electrified countries in Africa was visited by Mr. Kerry last month and he asked the president to remove the blocks from the auction that were in sensitive areas.
The blocks are still on the market.
The president of the country said in an interview that his country had the right to exploit its gas and oil, just as the US has done. It is delusional to request that we change our behavior and not provide the resources and know-how.
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