Lobby groups challenge Afreximbank not to support coal fired projects

Some lobby organisations in Africa have called on Afreximbank to stop the ongoing support of coal-fired electricity generation projects due to their devastating effects on climate. In a joint statement, the Environment Governance Institute Uganda, Friends of the Earth in Togo, Alliance for Empowering Rural Communities, and AbibiNsroma Foundation, argued that the continued investment in fossil fuel projects undermines efforts to achieve the 1,5 degrees Celsius climate target and the Sustainable Development Goals.

“We, the undersigned African NGOs, write to express our deep concern regarding the ongoing support for fossil fuel projects in Africa,” reads part of the statement.

“As we are aware, these projects not only contribute to climate change, but also have severe negative impacts on local communities and ecosystems. Africa is one of the most vulnerable regions to the impacts of climate change, with rural communities already facing the devastating consequences of droughts, floods, and extreme weather events.”

The continent is saddled with an energy crisis, with over 640 million having no access to energy, corresponding to an electricity access rate for African countries at just over 40 percent, the lowest in the world.

“Continued investment in fossil fuel projects only exacerbates these challenges and undermines our efforts to achieve 1.5 degrees climate target and the Sustainable Development Goals.”

Fossil-fuel based power generation is the single largest source of electricity generation in Africa. However, fossil fuels are the most expensive means of generating electricity and this is exacerbated by high fuel prices.

In a number of countries, emergency energy solutions, which constitute a large part of installed capacity, also rely mostly on fossil-fuel energy. The costs of emergency generation are in the range of US$0,2 to US$0,3 per kWh, which is much higher than the cost of conventional generation.-ebusinessweekly