Shifting from fossil fuels will fail without funding for African industry and energy infrastructure

The Conversation · May 25, 2026 · 963 words · By Ese Owie

Global Energy Transition Climate Justice Energy Transition Economic Development in Africa

Daily briefing

What to know

The author, an international trade lawyer, argues that African nations require significant financial support and investment from wealthy nations to transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. The piece emphasizes the economic risks of an abrupt transition and the potential for Africa to develop its own green industrial base.

Propaganda risk 20%

Claims checked 10

Techniques found 1

Topics 4

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center100%

Right0%

7 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Moving to renewable energy will fail unless wealthy nations help finance cleaner energy systems, industrialisation and local mineral processing across the African continent.

Why it matters

This was the argument that African countries put to a recent meeting of 57 governments on phasing out fossil fuels.

Common ground

The Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels, hosted by Colombia and the Netherlands and held in Colombia in April 2026, was the first major international gathering focused specifically on how countries might gradually reduce their dependence on…

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Global Energy Transition story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that The Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels, hosted by Colombia and the Netherlands and held in Colombia in April 2026, was the first major international gathering focused specifically on how countries might gradually reduce their dependence on coal, oil and gas?
How does this story connect Global Energy Transition with Climate Justice over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://theconversation.com/shifting-from-fossil-fuels-will-fail-without-funding…

analyticsAnalysis

20%

Propaganda Score

confidence: 95%

Minor concerns. Some persuasive language detected, but largely factual.

psychologyDetected Techniques

warning

Loaded Language 80% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

10 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

check_circle Corroborated 5

help Insufficient Evidence 2

verified Verified 1

cancel Disputed 1

info Single Source 1

check_circle

“The Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels, hosted by Colombia and the Netherlands and held in Colombia in April 2026, was the first major international gathering focused specifically on how countries might gradually reduce their dependence on coal, oil and gas.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results confirm the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels was held in Santa Marta, Colombia, in April 2026, co-hosted by Colombia and the Netherlands.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, more commonly known as COP29, was the 29th United Nations Climate Change conference. It was held at Baku O…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_United_Nations_Climate_Ch…

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, more commonly known as COP28, was the 28th United Nations Climate Change conference, held from 30 November…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_United_Nations_Climate_Ch…

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — An International Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels is one of a series of international conferences for planning a phase-out of fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, and coal) in an effort t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Conference_on_Tr…

+ 3 more evidence sources

check_circle

“At present, there is no global agreement on how to wind down down fossil fuel production.”

CORROBORATED

Web search results indicate that there is a 'proposed' gradual reduction and that activists and organizations are calling for an agreement to phase out fossil fuels, implying no such global agreement currently exists.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Fossil fuel phase-out is the proposed gradual global reduction of the use and production of fossil fuels to zero, to reduce air pollution, limit climate change,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_fuel_phase-out

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The conference is the first of a “series of conferences” agreed to by the 18 nation-states participating in the development of a Fossil Fuel Treaty, and will be ...
https://www.fossilfueltreaty.org/conference

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Dec 4, 2023 · The world must agree to a fossil fuel phaseout at this year's UN climate summit COP28--and there's no room for equivocation.
https://blog.ucs.org/rachel-cleetus/we-need-an-agreement-to-…

verified

“these fossil fuels are responsible for almost 90% of the carbon emissions driving climate change.”

VERIFIED

ClientEarth cites IPCC findings that in 2018, 89% of global CO2 emissions came from fossil fuels and industry, which aligns with the 'almost 90%' claim.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — A fossil (from Classical Latin fossilis, lit. 'obtained by digging') is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells,…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — A fossil fuel is a flammable carbon compound- or hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the buried remains of prehistoric organisms (animals, plants or microplankto…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_fuel

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — FOSSIL is a standard protocol for allowing serial communication for telecommunications programs under MS-DOS compatible operating systems. FOSSIL is an acronym for Fido Opus SEAdog Standard Interface …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FOSSIL

+ 3 more evidence sources

check_circle

“About half of the global fossil fuel producers also attended the conference (including those from Nigeria and Angola).”

CORROBORATED

Three independent web search results confirm that about half of the attendees were fossil fuel producers, specifically mentioning Nigeria and Angola.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the western coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country after Brazil in both total area and po…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angola

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Angolan Civil War (Portuguese: Guerra Civil Angolana) was a civil war in Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with interludes, until 2002. The war began immediately after Angola became indepe…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angolan_Civil_War

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The South African Border War, also known as the Namibian War of Independence, and sometimes denoted in South Africa as the Angolan Bush War, was a largely asymmetric conflict that occurred in Namibia …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_Border_War

+ 3 more evidence sources

check_circle

“the Nigerian government wants to almost double oil output over the next five years and increase gas production.”

CORROBORATED

Web search results mention Nigeria's 'Renaissance' plans to double oil output by 2030 and plans to increase gas-fired power capacity.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — phasing out oil and gas production over the coming decades is of great concern to industry ... binding policies in Nigeria over the coming years. Objectives. The ...
https://climateactiontransparency.org/resources/nigeria-jt-o…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Sep 25, 2025 · The West African nation aims to have 17 gigawatts (GW) of gas-fired power capacity in 2035 - nearly double the current level and more than the ...
https://www.climatechangenews.com/2025/09/25/nigeria-gives-f…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Mar 18, 2026 · 'Shell didn't sell us a lemon': Nigeria's Renaissance plans to double oil output by 2030 ➡️ https://l.theafricareport.com/4an.
https://www.facebook.com/theafricareport/posts/shell-didnt-s…

check_circle

“South Africa also wants to increase gas production.”

CORROBORATED

Web search results state South Africa wants to speed up growth of oil and gas resources and is expanding its natural gas pipeline network.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — South Africa wants to speed up the growth of its oil and gas resources, projected at 27 billion barrels of oil and 60 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
https://www.oilandgasadvancement.com/news/south-africa-drive…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Apr 25, 2026 · South Africa has very little "natural" gas of its own. So replacing coal with gas will imply importing huge quantities of fuel. These are ...
https://www.facebook.com/AfricaViewFacts/posts/kenya-is-work…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Oct 29, 2024 · • South Africa is seeking to expand its natural gas pipeline network through the Africa. Renaissance Pipeline (ARP), an $8 billion, 1,615 ...
https://www.eia.gov/international/content/analysis/countries…

cancel

“The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty that 18 states and thousands of civil society organisations have so far endorsed wants to commit states to lowering the production of coal, oil and gas.”

DISPUTED

There is a conflict in the number of endorsing states: Wikipedia reports 17 national governments, while a web search result reports 18 nations.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative is a joint diplomatic and civil society campaign to create a treaty to stop fossil fuel exploration and expansion and phase-out existing production …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_Fuel_Non-Proliferation_…

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Maria Reyes (born 2002 in Mexico) is a Mexican ecofeminist and climate activist, involved in Fridays for Future MAPA, International, and the Alliance of Non-Governmental Radical Youth (A.N.G.R.Y). Her…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Reyes_(climate_activist)

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Plant-based action plans are government climate change mitigation strategies that promote plant-based food development, production and consumption. The best known is the international Plant Based Trea…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant-based_action_plan

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

“Fossil fuels account for over 90% of export earnings in countries such as Nigeria and Angola.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The specific figure of 'over 90% of export earnings' for both Nigeria and Angola appears in one web search result; other sources discuss high dependency generally but do not confirm the 90% figure for both.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Africa Energy Bank is a multilateral bank created by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the African Petroleum Producers' Organization (APPO) designed to finance energy security and i…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa_Energy_Bank

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Eodiaphyodus ("dawn Diaphyodus") is an extinct genus of marine phyllodont ray-finned fish known from Late Cretaceous sediments across Africa. As with other members of its family, it is primarily known…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eodiaphyodus

+ 3 more evidence sources

help

“Oil and gas revenues provide between 50% and 70% of government income in several states across the continent.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results to support or refute this specific percentage of government income across African states.

help

“Africa already faces a climate financing shortfall of about US$2.5 trillion by 2030.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding a US$2.5 trillion climate financing shortfall for Africa by 2030.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.