Africa’s share of global trade fell by more than half, from 4.8% in 1980 to only 2.2% in 1988. Today it's 2.8%. The explanation, as @RencapMan shows: value accrues to finished goods when Africa's exports are concentrated in unprocessed mineral, agricultural and forest products.
https://twitter.com/RencapMan/status/1404761297477115905
To add value (industrialization) requires infrastructure. We need power. If energy access rate hovers around 40% and over 600 million people lack access to electricity, the graph Charlie posted is the inevitable outcome. Electricity is the lifeblood of industrialization.
This is not a conversation about solar home systems to "charge cell phones". This is about industrial scale energy access to run smelters, agro-processing factories, for temperature and moisture control in ag storage facilities, for hospitals and schools.
Africa's energy demand must be built into its zero-carbon transition. This means that some fossil fuels (like natural gas) are required to play a transitional role. It is unacceptable to forcibly offer Africa's economic growth as sacrifice on the altar of net zero.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
