On November 29, the Energy Futures Initiative and the Africa50 Investment Fund announced the launch of a new EFI report: Investing in Natural Gas for Africans: Doing Good and Doing Well. At the launch event, hosted by the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center in Washington, EFI founder and CEO Ernest Moniz gave opening remarks alongside Alain Ebobissé, the CEO of Africa50.
In his opening remarks, Secretary Moniz emphasized that “Africa is right now the most dynamic continent in terms of boosting the middle class and developing the economy. Natural gas is going to play an important role, and developing infrastructure—both rural and urban—to support it is key.”
Populations in Africa are “growing rapidly, alongside increasing urbanization, expanding economies, and rising living standards—which are all driving overall energy demand.” Taking these factors into consideration, the report assesses the role of natural gas in meeting key electrification, health, and environmental goals on the African continent.
Due to the abundance of natural gas resources across the continent, the EFI report highlights that natural gas could not only help meet ever-growing energy demand but be a “critical bridge fuel for the global transition to a low carbon future.” To achieve this, African countries will need to:
- “Develop domestic natural gas resources to ensure increased energy access rates and sustainable development”
- “Secure affordable and reliable natural gas imports to help establish local markets for gas in power generation, industry, transportation and households”
- “Plan for building natural gas export capabilities to profit from the rapidly-growing gas market.”
To watch a video of the event, click here.
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