Africa’s Energy Dilemma: The Case for Oil and Gas

By NJ Ayuk

Africa emits less than 3 percent of global carbon dioxide – yet it bears the brunt of climate moralism that would deny it the very tools of development the West once used to industrialize. At a time when 600 million Africans still live without electricity – a number that grew during the pandemic as economic hardship pushed 30 million more into energy poverty – calls to halt all fossil fuel development on the continent are not just misguided; they are unjust.

The truth is simple: Africa must be allowed – and encouraged – to produce every drop of oil and gas it can responsibly extract. This is not climate denialism.

It is pragmatism rooted in equity, economics, and human dignity.

Natural Gas: Africa’s Bridge to Electrification and Economic Dignity

For many African nations, natural gas is not a relic of the past – it is the bridge to a more prosperous and electrified future. It powers industries, creates jobs, builds local technical capacity, and generates the fiscal revenues needed to fund infrastructure, education, and – yes – renewable energy deployment at scale.

To insist on an “all-or-nothing” energy transition, as some Western green agendas do, ignores the lived realities of a continent where access to reliable, affordable electricity remains a distant dream for nearly half its population.

Africa’s Plan A is energy access. Plan B is economic transformation. Plan C is a just transition – funded by the very revenues that oil and gas can generate today.

Consider this: universal access to electricity is enshrined in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals as a basic human right. Yet while Europe debates how fast it can phase out gas, Africa is still debating how to turn on the lights.

Natural gas offers a scalable, dispatchable, and relatively low-emission solution to close that gap – especially in regions where solar and wind, while promising, cannot yet meet base-load demand or operate without costly storage and grid upgrades.

The Hypocrisy of Energy Colonialism

Moreover, much of the anti-fossil fuel sentiment directed at Africa is tinged with a troubling double standard. The same countries that built their wealth on coal, oil, and gas now seek to lock Africa out of the hydrocarbon resources that could transform its economies.

Worse, this stance often conflates African emissions – which are negligible on a global scale – with those of major industrial polluters.

The result? A continent rich in energy potential is being asked to sacrifice its development on the altar of a global climate narrative it did not create.

This is not to reject renewables. Africa is already investing heavily in solar, wind, and hydro.

But a diversified energy mix – one that includes both fossil fuels and clean technologies – is the only viable path to energy security, industrialization, and inclusive growth in the near to medium term.

Africa’s Plan A is energy access. Plan B is economic transformation. Plan C is a just transition – funded by the very revenues that oil and gas can generate today.

There is no credible alternative that ignores this reality.

To deny Africa its right to use its own resources is not environmental stewardship. It is energy colonialism in a new guise.

The continent deserves a seat at the table – not a lecture from those who achieved prosperity long ago by doing exactly what they now forbid others from doing.

If the world is serious about climate justice, it must start by recognizing Africa’s right to develop – and to decide its own energy future.