Those calling for divestiture from fossil fuel argue that we cannot afford the climate consequences of utilising them, and that we should instead embrace renewable energy.
However, statistics show that in the past two decades, about 87 percent of the energy that the world consumed came from fossil fuel. At the global level even today, and despite agitation to save the world, the use of renewable energy such as wind and solar is still very minimal.
Hydroelectric power remains the biggest and cheapest renewable energy, but recent studies show that it has the least capacity for expansion.
While opinion is still divided on whether the world is ready to divest from fossil fuel, Godfrey Onyango, the Founder and Principal Secretary, Justice and Environment Foundation, argues that the world is not ready for such a major move.
“Because of the ever-growing global population, we will need more and more fossil energy,” he says. “What we need to realise is that we still do not have alternative sources of energy which can drive the growing demand for industries and populations.”
Onyango agrees that as much as it is true that fossil energy causes changes in climates and contributes to global warming, the question people must answer is: What is the developed world doing about it?
“We don’t have to follow wholesale what non-governmental organisations want,” he argues. “The percentage of greenhouse gas from Africa is very minimal compared to what is coming from the West. That is where more action is needed.”
He adds that if Africa divests from fossil fuel, communities living where these resources are found will be the biggest losers, and of course their nations.
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