The transition to zero carbon in African countries

Developing nations are in a good position to accelerate or spearhead the global transition to net-zero carbon, increased use of renewable fuels and less use of fossil fuels. That’s thanks to their location and the abundance of natural resources that they have. There are two ways a developing nation can react to the odds for decarbonisation. We know that most of the targets to get to net-zero carbon or to keep the increase in temperature under 1.5°C did not come from developing countries. They came from the West. The Paris agreement is something that all countries had to sign. So, developing countries are, in a sense, in a position to react to these targets or to see them as an opportunity to evolve and an opportunity to lead the rest of the world.

Recorded CO₂ emissions from Africa are about 10% that of the United States: one continent compared to one country. There could be more emissions from Africa, but this is what is recorded. So, it’s possible for Africa or developing countries within the African continent to say: you know what, we’re good. We’re not doing anything. We’re still less than the United States put together. That’s a reactive position, saying that we’re not doing anything because we know that decarbonisation is expensive, and we want to develop.

Energy poverty in developing nations is very high. Roughly 15% of the population has access to constant electricity, for example. I grew up in Nigeria. I know how many times in a year we had the lights on from the grid. Most of the time it was candles or lanterns or a small generator set for two hours a day.

While it’s essential to decarbonise, it’s also important to reduce energy poverty, so energy security is key. The question is: can renewable or clean energy provide for this 85% of the population? I believe it can. Everything has its challenges; for example, the sun is not out throughout the day, at least not in London. But in some parts of Africa, the sun is out for at least 10 hours. So, it’s about channelling these resources to provide energy 24 hours a day. The challenge is technological. Of course, the challenge is also one of cost. In terms of technologies, the technology is there. It just has a low readiness level. Most of these technologies to harness these natural energy sources that could lead to sustained production of energy have lower readiness levels; they are probably still in demonstration, but it’s something that can be done.

Developed countries have gotten to where they are today by using fossil fuels, and developing countries still need to grow their industries. Developed countries should be encouraged to help developing countries grow their industry based on clean energy sources because they can easily transfer technology to developing nations. For instance, if a developed country comes up with a solution or a number of strategies to decarbonise, they should be encouraged to transfer this technology to developing countries.

We're already seeing forms of technology diffusion or technology transfer. For example, a company might have a branch in a developed country and another branch in a developing country. In situations where there is no form of technology transfer, that should be encouraged to happen and that can be done during, for example, the Paris agreement, during summits with all members of state. That’s something that should be tackled when climate change is discussed: some form of policy that will make developed countries pass on technologies to developing countries in terms of how to do things or even in terms of physical assets to help.

The transition to a decarbonised economy is not cheap. Who should be responsible for paying for developing countries to transition to a clean economy? This is a burden that these countries probably cannot carry because this is very expensive. There are two ways to look at this. A developing country that doesn’t have a high industrial base, for instance, is most likely importing a lot of goods from other countries. One way to offset the cost is to put a tax on products that are coming into their borders that are not clean; that way, they can indirectly tax the developing countries and use that money to support the transition to a clean society.

Another way, which is more proactive, is to have a global green fund, where different countries can apply for some form of credits or loans to support decarbonisation. The payment for such loans needs to be agreed at a low interest rate, because the question of who pays for decarbonisation is something that everyone, developed or developing, is finding answers to. One way is to have this green fund on a global scale. The World Bank could have a special portfolio to give out money to support the transition to a clean society. These loans would, of course, be given with some form of supervision to account for how much CO₂ emissions can be reduced.

The behaviour of someone in a developed country and that of someone in a developing country towards exerting pressure on policymakers and producers is different. That’s because of the solutions available in each country. In a developed nation, there are more solutions available. For example, an individual can choose to reduce their consumption of energy or increase efficiency at home. You can choose to turn off your lights when you’re not using them. You can choose to unplug your phone when it’s fully charged. There are so many things you could do. You could choose to buy an electric car as opposed to a car with natural gas. Or you can choose to not have a diesel car because diesel is more CO₂-intensive than natural gas. You could choose to have a hydrogen vehicle; hydrogen vehicles are coming on board. And you could also choose to have a hybrid car which runs on electricity and gas.

There are more options to choose from for an individual who is based in a developed country. For an individual who’s based in a developing country, there’s hardly any electricity throughout the year. The choices they have are limited to walking or cycling instead of taking the car because electric vehicle proliferation in developing countries is very low. Or you could carpool. But there are not as many options available to someone in a developing country. While the behavioural change required globally will probably be the same, the specific advice and choices available in each country are different.