Current Energy Context in Africa and Latin America

Abstract

This chapter shows that energy consumption in Africa and Latin America has grown at a rate greater than the total energy consumption worldwide since 1980, consuming nearly 10% of the total global energy and ~20% of global renewable energy, largely biomass. Other significant sources of renewables include hydropower and geothermal. Both regions have diverse energy resources typically distributed irregularly within and between nations. Coal, oil and natural gas production is restricted to a few nations but is often used for electricity production across several countries. Natural gas reserves are prolific in parts of both regions which is likely to contribute to expanded electricity production in future decades particularly if investments in energy infrastructure occur as suggested. Moreover, energy infrastructure has a significant impact on energy consumption in both Latin America and Africa. However, those regions of Latin America and Africa that rely heavily on biomass typically lack a modern energy infrastructure. The presence of oil and gas pipelines connected to refineries, port facilities and production fields are indicators of trading partners internal to the regions and/or to other regions where demand may be higher (e.g., Maghreb to Europe). Electric grid integration in both Africa and Latin America is limited by variations in frequency, sub-regional power pools that lack interconnection, geographic barriers and political differences. Significant efforts in both regions are directed at improving the connectivity between nations but still less than 8% of power crosses international borders in any African region. Finally, energy efficiency and incentives to renewable energies are emerging as priority policies within several African and Latin American countries as they try to decouple economic growth and carbon emissions, and fundamentally alter the increasing trajectory of energy consumption. All these data and the analysis embedded in this chapter shows that the evolution to a low carbon energy future is nascent but on course in these regions.