
Energy Security Shock: Why Africa’s Transition Debate Just Changed Overnight
After U.S – Israel strikes on Iran, oil and shipping risk surged. Here’s what the energy security shock means for Africa’s transition, FX and grids.


After U.S – Israel strikes on Iran, oil and shipping risk surged. Here’s what the energy security shock means for Africa’s transition, FX and grids.

On the morning the G20 released its South Africa Declaration, a senior official in Abuja joked quietly to a colleague: “Let me guess, they want us to be green, but not too green; use gas, but not too...

Not long ago, I stood near a primary school building in northern Nigeria. A technician was fastening a solar panel to the roof of one of the school buildings. The schoolyard buzzed with the laughter...

When negotiators at COP30 announced new climate-finance commitments in Belém, my mind went to the children I met earlier this year in a village outside Makurdi, Nigeria, six boys and girls bent over...

Africa is gaining clean-energy capacity at a pace unmatched in its modern history. From Morocco’s vast Noor solar complex to Kenya’s wind farms, South Africa’s rooftop boom, and Nigeria’s swelling...

The world is in the midst of the largest energy-investment boom in history. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), global clean-energy spending is expected to surpass USD 3.3 trillion in...

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has released its World Energy Outlook 2025. After reading it, I was struck by one figure: 1 billion Africans still cook with firewood, charcoal, and animal dung....

As the sun sets over a village in northern Tanzania, the solar-powered mini-grid hums to life, lighting homes that were once in darkness. Children gather around charging phones, shop owners keep...

Africa’s critical minerals are once again in the global spotlight, this time not for what’s being dug up, but for how it’s being financed. Last week, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)...

In recent climate weeks, the buzzwords were everywhere: “green capital,” “just transition,” “unlocking climate finance.” On panels, participants nodded in agreement about the trillions needed to...

During one of my earliest visits to the Niger Delta, I met a fisherman who showed me the mangroves where his father had worked. The waters were slick with oil, and the air smelled faintly of gas...

Critical minerals have become the backbone of the global energy transition. Lithium, cobalt, graphite, nickel, and rare earths are essential inputs for batteries, electric vehicles, wind turbines,...