Today, 7th of November 2024, the International Gas Union (IGU) participated in the African Energy Week (AEW) – the African Energy Chamber’s annual event, taking place in Cape Town, South Africa. This event united African energy leaders, global investors, and executives from across the public and private sectors, allowing for four days of intense dialogue on the future of the African energy industry.
Ella Minty, IGU’s Director, Communications was a contributor to the “ESG Financing in the African Energy Sector” session, the first “open floor” discussion taking place at 2024 African Energy Week, a panel conversation that delved into the importance of ESG criteria in attracting investments, enhancing corporate reputation, and ensuring long-term sustainability.
In her intervention, Ms Minty argued the case for natural gas as a critical fuel, and as an immediate step towards mitigating CO2 emissions across the continent.
Ms Minty further pointed out that Africa is home to 75% of the world’s population without access to electricity, and it also is the world’s most energy-deficient continent. Environmental and Social Governance (ESG) compliance cannot happen without ensuring that the 54 countries that make up the African continent have access to clean, reliable and affordable energy that only natural gas can currently provide, especially since 40% of the global gas discoveries in the last 10 years happened in Africa.
While there, Ms Minty also had several meetings with high-ranking representatives of African and global investment banks, such as Ms Fathima Hussain – the Managing Director & Regional Head for Project and Export Finance at Standard Chartered Bank, Ms Taiwo Okwor – Vice President, Investment at Africa Finance Corporation, and Mr Haytham El Maayergi – Executive Vice President of Global Trade Bank at Afreximbank.
Their discussions focussed on the role the International Gas Union can play in fostering much closer collaboration between these multilateral development and investment banks and the African members of the IGU, particularly concerning gas investments across the African continent.
African Energy Week 2024 also provided a perfect opportunity for IGU to discuss regional matters with Dr Ben Asante, the Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Gas (Ghana’s National Gas Company) and a Charter Member of the IGU, as well as with representatives of Taqa Arabia, Associate Member of the IGU.
