fossil fuels - The African Mirror

Dec

2023

COP28 landmark deal to transition from fossil fuels is a unique opportunity for Africa

IN what is being hailed as an unprecedented agreement, delegates to COP28 in Dubai made the first official commitment to ditch fossil fuels, in a move set to spur green investment globally. Dubbed as the 'beginning of the end' of the fossil fuel era, the agreement aims for a rapid and equitable shift, marked by substantial emissions reductions and enhanced financial support. Negotiators from nearly 200 countries also agreed on the first-ever 'global stocktake' to boost climate action before the end of the decade, aiming to keep the global temperature increase below 1.5°C. Although the agreement doesn't completely 'phase out'…

Dec

2023

By VALERIE VOLCOVICI, GLORIA DICKIE and WILLIAM JAMES

Nations strike deal at COP28 to transition away from fossil fuels

ENVIRONMENT

REPRESENTATIVES from nearly 200 countries agreed at the COP28 climate summit to begin reducing global consumption of fossil fuels to avert the worst of climate change, signalling the eventual end of the oil age. The deal struck in Dubai after two weeks of hard-fought negotiations was meant to send a powerful message to investors and policy-makers that the world is united in its desire to break with fossil fuels, something scientists say is the last best hope to stave off climate catastrophe. COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber called the deal "historic" but added that its true success would be in its…

May

2023

By NOAH BROWNING

Solar power due to overtake oil production investment for first time -IEA

BUSINESS

INVESTMENT in clean energy will extend its lead over spending on fossil fuels in 2023, the International Energy Agency said, with solar projects expected to outpace outlays on oil production for the first time. Annual investment in renewable energy is up by nearly a quarter since 2021 compared to a 15% rise for fossil fuels, the Paris-based energy watchdog said in its World Energy Investment report. Around 90% of that clean energy spending comes from advanced economies and China, however, highlighting the global divide between rich and poor countries as fossil fuel investment is still double the levels needed to…

Mar

2022

By The African Mirror

OPEC chief, African ministers defend oil and gas investments

NEWS

MACDONALD DZIRUTWE and ESTELLE SHIRBON THE OPEC chief and ministers from major African oil producing countries defended investments in fossil fuels, saying Africa's development needs were being overlooked in the global drive towards decarbonisation. Africa accounts for less than 3% of global carbon emissions while some 600 million Africans have no access to electricity, they said, arguing that investments in the continent's natural resources should go forward. "It would be a tragedy of unimaginable proportions if, despite billions of dollars being poured into investments for these resources, these went west as stranded assets," OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo told an energy…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

Legal opinion puts governments ‘on notice’ over export finance for fossil fuels

ENVIRONMENT

MEGAN ROWLING GOVERNMENTS could face litigation if they do not step up efforts to stop their export credit agencies financing fossil fuel infrastructure and activities overseas, legal experts and climate activists warned on Tuesday. Advocacy group Oil Change International released a legal opinion saying the agencies - which provide loans, insurance and guarantees for businesses to invest abroad - should stop lending to oil, coal and gas projects around the world immediately. "If they continue doing this, they are breaching international law," said Jorge E. Viñuales, a professor of law and environmental policy at the University of Cambridge who authored the opinion…

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

Biden proposal: $174 billion for EVs, new funds for renewable power

WORLD

DAVID SHEPARDSON and NICHOLA GROOM 0606President Joe Biden's vast infrastructure plan includes $174 billion to boost the markets for electric vehicles and billions more for renewable power - both provisions aimed at weaning the U.S. off of fossil fuels and combating climate change. The $2 trillion plan, which also seeks to invest in traditional projects like roads and bridges, is a centerpiece of the administration's ambitious agenda to decarbonize the U.S. economy by 2050 and restore the nation's leadership in addressing global warming. It also vows to spend $165 billion on public transit, Amtrak and other rail projects - moves…

Mar

2021

By The African Mirror

Africa looks likely to continue relying on power from fossil fuels for some time

ENVIRONMENT

THE narratives of “leapfrogging” to new technologies are pervasive when it comes to development in Africa. One example is skipping cord phones and landlines to advance directly from limited phone coverage to wide mobile phone usage. Another that’s frequently discussed is Africa’s potential for a quick transition to renewable energy. GALINA ALOVA, Environmental Economist | Energy, Sustainable Finance and Machine Learning, University of Oxford PHILIPP TROTTER, Research Associate, Renewable Energy, University of Oxford This is important both from a climate change and an economic development perspective. Providing affordable clean energy is big on the UN Sustainable Development Agenda (Goal 7).…

Feb

2021

By The African Mirror

State oil firms risk wasting $400 bln as energy shift speeds up

BUSINESS

JULIA PAYNE STATE-OWNED oil companies could squander about $400 billion on investments in the next decade on new oil projects that will struggle to turn a profit as the world shifts away from fossil fuels, a non-governmental organisation said yesterday. The Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) estimated national oil companies, or NOCs, would invest $1.9 trillion in the next 10 years with about a fifth of those investments only breaking even if oil prices stay above $40 a barrel. Oil prices have climbed to around $60 this week, after plunging below $20 last year when demand plummeted due to the…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

Pull investments from companies not committed to environment, pope says

RELIGION

PHILIP PULLELLA POPE Francis has urged people to pull investments from companies that are not committed to protecting the environment, adding his voice to calls for the economic model that emerges from the coronavirus pandemic to be a sustainable one. Francis spoke in a video message for an online event called "Countdown Global Launch, A Call to Action on Climate Change". "Science tells us, every day with more precision, that we need to act urgently ... if we are to have any hope of avoiding radical and catastrophic climate change," he said. The pope listed three action points: better education…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Cities promise to divest from fossil fuels to boost green recovery

AFRICITIES

MEGAN ROWLING THE mayors of 12 big cities in North America, Europe and Africa pledged on Tuesday to shift their money out of fossil fuels and into green energy, buildings, transport and other investments to help them recover from the pandemic and tackle climate change. The group of cities, which signed up to a declaration committing them to divest from coal, oil and gas, are home to more than 36 million residents and hold over $295 billion in assets. Led by London and New York City, they agreed to take all possible steps to divest from fossil fuel companies the…