By Tochukwu Bliss, Abuja
The African Energy Chamber (AEC), has called on the World Bank to end its ban on financing upstream oil and gas projects.
Rather, the institution should align with Africa’s urgent need to eradicate energy poverty and achieve sustainable development, it urged in a statement.
The Chamber maintained that “Lifting this ban is essential to unlocking the continent’s hydrocarbon resources, delivering reliable and affordable electricity to millions, and generating the revenues required to support Africa’s long-term energy transition.”
The AEC argued that the World Bank’s decision to review its 2017 ban on financing upstream oil and gas development has lingered for too long, saying, the time for reassessment is over, and decisive action is needed.
According to the Chamber, around 600 million Africans still lack access to electricity – a number that is not only staggering but growing.
“The International Energy Agency notes that gains made in expanding electricity access were reversed during the pandemic, with up to 30 million people who previously had access no longer able to afford it.
“This deepening energy poverty undermines Africa’s industrialisation, economic growth and social development,” it added.
Accordingly, the AEC maintains that “Africa must be empowered to grow its energy mix pragmatically, using both fossil fuels and renewables – not forced into an “all or nothing” approach that risks leaving hundreds of millions in the dark.”
It further opined that Natural gas offers a scalable, affordable and lower-carbon solution that can help meet the continent’s immediate power needs while enabling a just, inclusive energy transition.
Lifting this ban is essential to unlocking the continent’s hydrocarbon resources, delivering reliable and affordable electricity to millions, and generating the revenues required to support Africa’s long-term energy transition.
Yet climate panic and fearmongering – often directed disproportionately at Africa, a continent responsible for just 3% of global CO₂ emissions – threaten to block this path.
“The green agenda and the World Bank’s ban on upstream financing ignore the fact that natural gas can bring life-changing prosperity to Africa through jobs, business growth and monetisation,” said NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the AEC.
“We are proposing a logical, sustainable path: using our natural gas to meet current needs, generate revenue and fund our transition to renewables.
“Given that universal access to affordable, reliable electricity is one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, the growing number of Africans without power is morally wrong and must not be ignored.”
Additionally, it noted that upstream oil and gas development across many countries in Africa, including Nigeria, Egypt, Mozambique, Namibia are already demonstrating their capacity to advance energy access.
Meanwhile, global financial trends are shifting with major banks, particularly in the U.S., easing ESG-related restrictions and resuming oil and gas financing, recognizing that natural gas remains a vital bridge fuel. The World Bank, it insisted, must do the same – not as a concession, but as a commitment to its mandate to promote shared prosperity and reduce poverty.
