Despite the global push to end investments in fossil fuels as the world transitions to cleaner fuels, gas remains vital for African economies, African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina said on Thursday.

African economist Adesina said that the continent, where 600 million people lack access to electricity, is still concentrating on just energy systems.

The African Development Bank is one of the financial backers of Total’s LNG project in Mozambique, which is worth $20 billion.

Despite increased investments and access to electricity, particularly from renewable sources, Adesina said the current technologies will not provide steady power supply to grids and stable baseload for industries in Africa.

“Therefore, gas is fundamental to Africa’s economic survival. I see gas as an important part of Africa’s energy mix,” Adesina told Reuters on the sidelines of the United Nations climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland.

Africa’s oil and gas-dependent nations, such as Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Ivory Coast, and Mozambique, are counting on latest discoveries to boost revenues and to provide gas-fired power.

“Even if Africa triples its use of gas to generate electricity, it will only contribute to only 0.67% of total global greenhouse gas emissions. Without gas, Africa’s economies will be killed,” Adesina said.

He said that the bank has stopped funding coal projects.

“A week ago, our board approved our new policy. No more coal. However, we will support Africa to have a stable energy system, and gas is critical to that,” he said, adding that gas will prevent deforestation since most people in Africa use wood or charcoal for energy.

https://naijabiztrust.com/gas-remains-vital-to-stable-power-supplies-in-africa-says-afdb-president-adesina/