https://us7.campaign-archive.com/?e=a9fdc67db9&u=9d011a88d8fe324cae8c084c5&id=e1a77bd5a0
In prior posts where I have addressed the futility of jurisdictions in the U.S. trying to “save the planet” by reducing their use of fossil fuels, my focus has generally been on China and India. Those countries have huge populations (about 1.4 billion each) and still-poorly-developed energy infrastructure. Of course they are going to continue to build power plants until everybody has access to reliable electricity. And of course they are going to make use of coal, oil and natural gas, because those fossil fuels provide the cheapest and most reliable energy. The ongoing increase in emissions from China and India as they build out their electricity systems and as their people acquire automobiles regularly swamps any minor emissions reductions that any jurisdictions in the U.S. can achieve.
But let us also not overlook Africa. Africa’s population is currently about 1.3 billion, but growing much faster than that of China or India. The UN projects a population for Africa of 2.5 billion for 2050, and 4 billion for 2100. Meanwhile, close to half of the current 1.3 billion Africans lack access to electricity; and that number will only grow rapidly in the absence of rapid buildout of an electrical grid throughout the continent.
You may have seen predictions in certain quarters that Africa is going to “go green” as it gains access to energy. But what is the reality on the ground? We can get a good indication by looking at what happened last week at the Africa Oil Week convention, held this year in Cape Town, South Africa. Reuters had a report on the event, with the headline “No apologies: Africans say their need for oil cash outweighs climate concerns.”