This archive report was first published on 13 July 2021.
July 13, 2021, marked a significant day for the African Energy Chamber (AEC) as it released a statement calling for a boycott of Western countries and climate change advocates opposed to the development of the continent's oil and gas sector.
The AEC, based in Johannesburg, accused Western elites of using the global climate crisis to 'disrupt African progress' by waging campaigns for their multinationals to discontinue investments in the African energy sector.
According to the AEC, Western financial institutions now discriminate against Africa's oil and gas industry, interdicting fossil fuel developments on the continent as a result of these campaigns.
The Chamber urged African countries to boycott or refrain from working with international companies that discontinue investments and reject the African oil industry.
One such project affected by these campaigns is the $3.5 billion East African Crude Oil Pipeline, which is expected to transport oil from Hoima in western Uganda to the Indian Ocean port of Tanga, in Tanzania.
French oil major Total, the lead investor in Uganda's oil, estimates that the pipeline project will unlock other investments in the region of up to $15 billion, creating 10,000 jobs and multimillion-dollar contracts to local companies.
However, as international oil companies dump fossil fuels and push investments in clean energy, experts say Africa continues to lag and will still require oil and gas projects to bridge its energy deficit.
The AEC dismissed the proposed $100 billion for developing countries to enable them to transition from fossil fuels to clean energy, citing the fact that Western nations will be spending about $6 trillion to transition annually.
NJ Ayuk, chairman of the AEC, emphasized that boycotting fossil fuels now would defectively boycott any possible development in Africa, leaving millions in energy poverty.
