The Trump administration is doubling down on its bid to reverse the Biden-era drive to champion clean energy projects across Africa.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, speaking in Washington this week, derided the amount spent by the US and Europe on wind and solar projects on the continent instead of fossil fuel-based energy.
“Nothing that Africa does on its energy systems in all of our lifetimes will have any meaningful impact on global greenhouse gas emissions,” Wright said during a keynote address at the Powering Africa Summit, attended by several African energy ministers. He described the previous US administration and other Western governments as “paternalistic” and “neo-colonial,” arguing that they tried to dictate to African nations how to power their economies.
Critics have pointed out that African countries account for just 3-4% of global emissions, yet were often unable to raise funds for fossil fuel projects that they said were discouraged by development finance institutions with Western backing.
