DIRTY ENERGY IN AFRICA

The document examines the impacts of coal, oil, gas, and megadams across Africa, highlighting how these 'dirty energy' sources drive climate change and cause severe social and health crises. It details specific cases, such as South Africa's coal reliance, Uganda's oil expansion, and Mozambique's megadams, while warning against the 'extreme energy' frontier of fracking and tar sands. The briefing concludes that African governments must reject these outdated pathways in favor of decentralized, sustainable energy systems supported by climate finance from developed nations.

• Sub-Saharan Africa is the most 'electricity poor' region globally, with over 620 million people lacking electricity access and nearly 730 million relying on unhealthy cooking fuels like biomass.
• South Africa is heavily dependent on coal, which provides almost 90% of its electricity and 77% of its primary energy needs, leading to severe respiratory and cardiovascular diseases in communities near power plants.
• The African Development Bank was the second largest regional donor for coal projects globally between 2007 and 2013, providing US$2.8 billion, which risks locking African countries into outdated technologies.
• Uganda is expanding oil production with the goal of producing crude oil by 2020/2021, potentially exploiting up to 6.5 billion barrels in the Albertine Graben, which threatens high biodiversity including mountain gorillas.
• Megadams in Africa, such as the proposed Mphanda Nkuwa dam in Mozambique, often fail to reduce energy poverty; 85% of Mphanda Nkuwa's projected 1,300 MW capacity is intended for export, primarily to South Africa's Eskom.
• Nigeria is pursuing 'extreme energy' through bitumen (tar sands) extraction in Ondo state, with a Joint Operating Agreement targeting 10,000 barrels daily, which may cause topsoil removal and make farming impossible.
• The Maghreb region is heavily linked to EU energy policies, with Algeria supplying about 84% of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe, while Morocco's Ouarzazate solar plant has been criticized for 'green land grabbing' of 3,000 hectares.

APA

Friends of the Earth International (2016). DIRTY ENERGY IN AFRICA. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/DIRTY-ENERGY-IN-AFRICA-EN-FINAL.pdf

Chicago

Friends of the Earth International. DIRTY ENERGY IN AFRICA. 2016. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/DIRTY-ENERGY-IN-AFRICA-EN-FINAL.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Friends of the Earth International |title=DIRTY ENERGY IN AFRICA |date=November 2016 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/DIRTY-ENERGY-IN-AFRICA-EN-FINAL.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{friendsoftheearthinternational2016dirty, author = {{Friends of the Earth International}}, title = {{DIRTY ENERGY IN AFRICA}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2016}, month = nov, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/DIRTY-ENERGY-IN-AFRICA-EN-FINAL.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }