By the end of the century, Africa will account for forty percent of global population, yet Africa accounts for two-thirds of the global extreme poor population. The continent thus needs to expand energy access for its rapidly growing population and industry, as well as provide access to clean cooking and electricity for millions of families.

Today African countries endowed with fossil fuels look to monetise their gas and oil discoveries, while many others which to include natural gas in their energy mix. With Europe turning to Africa to plug its energy demand and further its development priorities, there remains a tension between African governments on one hand with donor nations and development finance institutions on the other. Donor countries and DFIs have continued to advocate increasingly restrictive policies on financing for oil and gas projects, thereby reducing African countries’ ability to develop these resources. This roundtable brokedown the nuances of climate change adaptation and finance in Africa, while addressing grievances and pressures felt by African nations.



Speakers included:

• Masood Ahmed, president, Center for Global Development 
• Raul Alfaro-Pelico, senior director of Energy Transition Academy at the Global South Program
• Vijaya Ramachandran, director for energy and development, The Breakthrough Institute, and Non-Resident Fellow, Center for Global Development 
• Aaron Sayne, senior governance officer, NRGI 
• Youba Sokona, vice chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, professor Honorary University College London

Moderator: Ragnheiður (Ragga) Elín Árnadóttir, director of the OECD Development Centre


This event was organized in partnership with the OECD Development Centre.


Originally published on the Center For Global Development website.