L’énergie polluante en Afrique

The document examines the impacts of 'polluting energy'—including fossil fuels, industrial biomass, and large dams—across Africa. It highlights how these systems often benefit elites and corporations while leaving local populations to face health crises, land grabbing, and climate vulnerability. Specific case studies focus on South Africa's coal dependency, oil extraction in Nigeria and Uganda, the influence of European energy policies in the Maghreb, and the social and environmental costs of large dams in Mozambique. The report concludes that African nations must avoid 'locking in' obsolete polluting technologies and instead pursue energy sovereignty through decentralized renewables.

• The report defines 'polluting energy' broadly, encompassing not only coal, oil, gas, and nuclear power, but also industrial biomass, industrial biofuels, large hydroelectric dams, and waste-to-energy incineration.
• Sub-Saharan Africa is identified as the most electricity-poor region globally, with over 620 million people lacking access to electricity and nearly 730 million relying on harmful cooking fuels like biomass.
• South Africa's energy system is heavily dependent on coal, which provides nearly 90% of its electricity production and 77% of its primary energy needs, leading to severe respiratory and cardiovascular diseases in communities near power plants.
• In the Maghreb region, energy policies are heavily influenced by European interests, with Algeria exporting nearly 84% of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe via pipelines.
• The report warns against 'extreme' energy resources such as shale gas and oil sands, noting that transforming oil sands into oil emits two to three times more greenhouse gases than conventional oil production.
• Large dams in Africa are criticized for causing forced displacements and failing to reduce energy poverty; for example, the proposed Mphanda Nkuwa dam in Mozambique is expected to displace nearly 1,400 households, with 85% of its electricity intended for export.
• Nigeria is facing pressure to exploit its bitumen (oil sands) reserves, estimated at nearly 38 billion barrels, which the report suggests could lead to the destruction of arable land and severe environmental degradation similar to that seen in Canada.
• Uganda's expansion into oil production in the Albertine Graben region threatens one of the continent's most exceptional biodiversity areas, which hosts half of Africa's bird species.

APA

Friends of the Earth International (2016). L’énergie polluante en Afrique. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/energie-polluante-en-afrique.pdf

Chicago

Friends of the Earth International. L’énergie polluante en Afrique. 2016. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/energie-polluante-en-afrique.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Friends of the Earth International |title=L’énergie polluante en Afrique |date=November 2016 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/energie-polluante-en-afrique.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{friendsoftheearthinternational2016lnergie, author = {{Friends of the Earth International}}, title = {{L’énergie polluante en Afrique}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2016}, month = nov, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/energie-polluante-en-afrique.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }