By Mirette Magdy and Salma El Wardany/Bloomberg News

CAIRO
EnergyNet.com 02 16 2022

Helping African nations during the clean energy transition should be a priority of COP27 climate talks in Egypt later this year, according to the host country’s president.

The continent shouldn’t miss out on the financial benefits of its oil and gas reserves, and the November summit in Sharm El-Sheikh needs to reach balanced, fair and objective resolutions to support African countries, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said. He added that the energy sector has provided decades of wealth for rich nations.

“African nations are still poor,” El-Sisi said at an Energy conference in Cairo on Monday. “Now that we have an opportunity, you tell us ‘No, don’t exploit it.’ What do you mean, do not exploit? If you want it that way then it is up to the rich to give to the poor.”

While the issue of fairness was a key talking point at COP26 in Glasgow last year, El-Sisi’s comments indicate that this year’s summit will put more focus on support for developing nations. Poorer countries say that rich ones wrecked the planet as they industrialized, and it’s now unfair they’re thwarting others’ economic progress — and failing to provide enough financial aid to help poorer countries adjust. 

Rich nations are years behind schedule on delivering a $100 billion-per-year funding target, and that’s seen as only a fraction of what’s needed. 

While Africa is the second-most populous continent, it’s responsible for less than 2% of global emissions and yet feels much of the impact of climate change, said Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency.

“Priority No. 1” for COP27 should be targeting financial institutions and finding a mechanism to avail and accelerate investments in Africa to support its economic development, Birol said at the event in Cairo. “We have to make sure that Africa doesn’t shoulder a heavy burden in transitioning to clean energy.”

bloomberg.com 02 15 2022