Africa has considerable reserves of fossil fuels of all kinds: oil, coal and natural gas. Much of this resource is either utilised outside of Africa or some of the resource is not developed at all for use within the continent. Meanwhile, there are concerns that the future of fossil fuel use will need to take place in the context of a low carbon development pathway.
It is therefore important to explore the resource and technical challenges and opportunities associated with the expanded utilisation of fossil fuels in Africa. This paper will review existing reserves and geographical distribution of fossil fuels across the continent, review technical options for decarbonising efforts and provide policy recommendations that would enable the use of resources for the continent’s development efforts while ensuring minimisation of GHG emissions.
