Nonetheless, two African countries publicly stated during COP30 that they supported a transition roadmap, suggesting that they did not agree with the approach proposed by the African group. A formal group position was not declared openly during the summit.<\/p>\n
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\nTanzania\u2019s Richard Muyungi, AGN chair, and COP30 President Andr\u00e9 Correa do Lago speaking during a COP30 plenary. Photo: UN Climate Change \u2013 Kiara Worth<\/p>\n
\nTanzania\u2019s Richard Muyungi, AGN chair, and COP30 President Andr\u00e9 Correa do Lago speaking during a COP30 plenary. Photo: UN Climate Change \u2013 Kiara Worth\u201cPathetic\u201d to tell Africa to transition<\/p>\n
Explicit references to phasing out fossil fuels were axed from the final \u201cGlobal Mutir\u00e3o\u201d decision<\/a> in the Bel\u00e9m \u201cpolitical package\u201d, following strong pushback from oil and gas-producing nations led by Gulf states. But questions remained over the role of African countries, with The Guardian suggesting<\/a> that AGN Chair Muyungi told a closed-door meeting that the continent\u2019s 54 countries aligned with Arab Group nations on the issue.<\/p>\n Muyungi did not confirm this alignment publicly, telling Climate Home News that the AGN had not been consulted by the COP30 presidency on fossil fuels. He added that, as many African nations have only just started tapping their oil and gas reserves, \u201chow do you tell them to transition away when they have just discovered it [fossil fuel]?\u201d<\/p>\n The AGN chair stressed that what Africa needs is energy access for the over 600 million people who currently lack electricity and 900 million others without clean cooking. He added that it would \u201creally be pathetic\u201d if Africa were told by other countries to transition away from fossil fuels. \u201cOurs is a transition away from wood and charcoal to electricity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Tanzania boasts vast gas reserves, some of which are expected to be auctioned off in a long-awaited new licensing round<\/a>, and relies on the fossil fuel for over two-thirds of its electricity. Tanzania is also involved in the controversial 1,443-kilometre East African Crude Oil Pipeline<\/a> (EACOP), which aims to carry crude oil extracted from fields under development near Uganda\u2019s Lake Albert to the Tanga port in Tanzania for export to international markets.<\/p>\n Muyungi said the continent could get cheap electricity from gas and \u201cnobody can tell us to transition away from gas because this is our survival now\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cOur economy will not move if somebody tells us to move away from gas because it is part of the fossil fuels \u2013 we cannot accept [that],\u201d he told Climate Home News.<\/p>\n African nations split over fossil fuel roadmap<\/p>\n Before negotiations kicked off in Bel\u00e9m, some African leaders called for careful consideration of any attempt to transition away from fossil fuels. Ghana\u2019s environment minister Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah said that \u201cto deny Africa the strategic use of these [natural] resources is to deny our right to develop, to light our homes and to power industries\u201d.<\/p>\n Ghana will become chair of the African Group of Negotiators for the next two years, starting in January.<\/p>\n As the idea of a fossil fuel transition roadmap unexpectedly became a priority for the COP30 talks following strong calls by Brazil\u2019s president and environment minister, the divergent positions of African nations started to surface, making it hard for them to form a common stance.<\/p>\n
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