FROM AFRICA TO EUROPE: GUARANTEE INVESTMENT IN GAS EXPORT INFRASTRUCTURES.

SOURCE: Energy Capital & Power

The European Union's position on gas has long been schizophrenic, seemingly driven more by its geopolitical and geoeconomic considerations than by climate concerns.

Preparatory The current race for gas has raised eyebrows among several observers, especially in countries with high levels of domestic consumption of this locally produced resource. Some fear that export agreements could lead to a diversion of locally consumed gas abroad, plunging local populations into energy poverty in the short term to ensure EU consumption. But there are also long-term questions. Although some of the announced deals have been presented as green hydrogen-ready infrastructure, which some see as a path to decarbonisation, many unknowns remain about the longevity of the EU's interest in gas and the risks this may pose for African economies. This issue is the subject of passionate debates in African gas-exporting countries, as the EU has sent mixed signals in the recent past. The change of course of the EU's energy policy generates uncertainty for all those involved. The recently announced REPower EU (the EU's plan to reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels and accelerate the ecological transition) has been praised by optimists as a commitment to increasing renewable energy. But there are doubts about the financial resources that support the investments of this plan, which calls into question its viability and the true intention behind it. It is arguably clearer on the strategy to secure other sources of gas supply (based on the efforts made by the various EU member states and their respective multinationals) than on how the Union will finance its renewable energy companies.