Musings From Abroad

OPEC Sec-Gen, Al Ghais wants fairer climate treatment for Africa

Published

1 year ago

October 17, 2023

The Secretary General of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Haitham Al Ghais, Tuesday clamoured for a fair treatment of Africa in the push to address global climate challenges.

Al Ghais stressed that the continent contributed the smallest share of greenhouse gas emissions globally.

“In a world in which Heathrow Airport consumes more energy than Sierra Leone or in which two-thirds of all primary schools in sub-Saharan Africa have no access to electricity, the same environmental yardstick should not be used to compare regions at vastly different stages of development,” Al Ghais said in online remarks.

“Utilising Africa’s natural resources like oil and gas will help deliver energy affordability and alleviate energy poverty,” he said, a position often repeated by the fossil fuel industry to increase oil production on the continent.

Almost 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa do not have access to electricity, and nearly 1 billion do not have access to clean cooking energy despite the region’s enormous potential for solar, wind, and hydrogen energy.

Experts on climate change have noted that in African nations with significant fossil fuel deposits, earnings have primarily gone to enrich corrupt political leaders rather than reducing overall or energy poverty. According to them, the corruption that comes with petrodollars frequently results in even worse provision of essential services.

Speaking at an energy conference in Cape Town, the head of OPEC noted that the continent required more assistance and cooperation because oil demand in Africa was predicted to increase by almost 80% between now and 2045.

Just 40% and 57% of the populations in Angola and Nigeria, two of Africa’s top oil producers for decades, had access to electricity in 2021, according to 2022 data from the World Bank.

Despite having the lowest per capita energy use in the world, Africa is home to roughly 13% of the world’s natural gas and 7% of its oil.

Musings From Abroad

Swiss company Mercuria partners Zambia’s IDC in new metals trading firm

Published

6 hours ago

December 21, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to a statement released by Swiss commodities trader, Mercuria, on Thursday, it has established a metals trading arm with Zambia, the second-largest producer of copper in Africa.

The trading unit is jointly owned by Mercuria and an arm of Zambia’s Industrial Development Company (IDC), and its purpose is to allow Zambia to engage directly in the minerals trading market.

The joint venture “envisages the establishment of a vehicle to market and trade Zambian copper by mutual leverage,” according to a statement from Cornwell Muleya, the CEO of IDC.

The southern African nation wants to increase copper output to roughly 3 million metric tonnes within the next ten years, and in 2023, it produced roughly 698,000 tonnes of copper, down from 763,000 metric tonnes the year before.

In June, the Zambian government announced that it would establish a minerals trading unit.

Investors including First Quantum Minerals and Barrick Gold are ramping up production, with output set to receive a further boost once Vedanta Resources’ Konkola Copper Mines restart activity.

“Our joint venture with IDC marks a significant milestone for Zambia as it positions itself more strategically in the global minerals market,” Kostas Bintas, Mercuria’s global head of metals and minerals, said in the statement.

Musings From Abroad

Blinken to reveal UN Sudan funding additions

Published

1 day ago

December 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Additional financing for humanitarian aid to Sudan and initiatives to strengthen civil society in the nation, where a conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions, will be announced by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the United Nations on Thursday.

Blinken will make many announcements when he leads a UN Security Council meeting on Sudan on Thursday, which will centre on humanitarian aid and civilian protection, Deputy U.S. Representative to the UN Ned Price told reporters on Wednesday.

According to Price, the announcements would include more money for humanitarian help, initiatives to strengthen civil society, and the return of democracy.

“Sudan, unfortunately, has risked becoming a forgotten conflict,” Price said.

“So part of the reason the secretary … opted to convene a signature event on this very topic is to make sure it remains in the spotlight,” Price said.

For almost 18 months, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and Sudan’s army have been engaged in combat, resulting in a severe humanitarian crisis that has forced over 12 million people from their homes and made it difficult for U.N. organisations to provide aid.

A power struggle between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces preceded a planned shift to civilian administration, which sparked the conflict in April 2023.

Although the army declined to join this year’s U.S.-mediated peace negotiations in Geneva, the warring parties did pledge to increase assistance access, which prevented any movement towards a ceasefire.

Price stated that before President Joe Biden’s term ends next month, the United States would keep collaborating with allies to enhance humanitarian access in Sudan and eventually end hostilities.

“We are going to leave nothing on the field in our efforts to work with allies, with partners, with the Sudanese stakeholders themselves, on the issues that matter most – humanitarian access, the provision of humanitarian assistance, ultimately, the process by which we can work to get to a cessation of hostilities, which is most urgently needed,” he said.