Africa is rich in energy resources. Her great rivers provide a potentially valuable source of electricity and with the installation of photovoltaics in only a small part of the vast Sahara Desert, Africa could provide all the electricty for the planet. (Please see “Solar PV Facts” in our ENVIRONMENT section.)
In the interim transition to alternative energy resources, Africa also has ample fossil fuel supplies. South Africa and Zimbabwe are rich in coal and combined with the oil of North and West Africa, these could form the basis for a highly industrialised society - with all its inherent problems.
With proper planning,however, Africa might be able to skip the fossil fuel phase that has polluted the planet and leap into the future with alternative energy, thereby taking the lead in sustainable development.
At the same time, were Africa’s agricultural resources to shift from cash-crop emphasis to local food production first, there would be no hunger on the continent.
The upcoming “Earth Summit” in Johannesburg, South Africa, at the end of this summer, may reveal how forward thinking Africa’s leaders may be – or may not be.
In the interim transition to alternative energy resources, Africa also has ample fossil fuel supplies. South Africa and Zimbabwe are rich in coal and combined with the oil of North and West Africa, these could form the basis for a highly industrialised society - with all its inherent problems.
With proper planning,however, Africa might be able to skip the fossil fuel phase that has polluted the planet and leap into the future with alternative energy, thereby taking the lead in sustainable development.
At the same time, were Africa’s agricultural resources to shift from cash-crop emphasis to local food production first, there would be no hunger on the continent.
The upcoming “Earth Summit” in Johannesburg, South Africa, at the end of this summer, may reveal how forward thinking Africa’s leaders may be – or may not be.