(Dec 7, 2022)
U.S. Special Climate Envoy John Kerry on Wednesday hailed the decision to hold next year’s COP28 climate summit in OPEC member the United Arab Emirates, saying fossil fuel economies should be encouraged to lead the transition to clean energy
„The gas here goes to Bonny and Europe to power homes and industries but we have no benefits from it,“ one local community development activist from the Niger Delta told Bloomberg recently. „Nothing comes to us.“
The comment was part of an in-depth analysis by Bloomberg on Europe‘s mad dash for gas that has seen Nigeria, for example, send millions of tons of LNG abroad while local communities use illegally made fuels and wood to stay warm. Nigeria is far from the only one.
The issue of climate finance will likely dominate this year’s COP27 talks in Egypt, which is set to focus heavily on solutions for Africa. The future of gas will also be a key topic given the host nation and many developing countries see it as a way to move away from coal, according to Kwasi Kwarteng, business secretary of the UK, which hosted last year’s summit. “For them, gas is part of the transition.“
The International Energy Agency, which last year called for an end to new fossil fuel developments, in a recent report argued that Africa should be allowed to exploit its gas resources.