After decades of growth, global electricity access has hit a downturn in recent years, especially in Africa. Roughly half the population of sub-Saharan Africa still lacks electricity, limiting access to water and modern medicine and preventing the expansion of industry.
Yet international organizations like the International Energy Agency and the World Bank have prioritized reducing emissions over eliminating poverty. Many development agencies stopped granting loans or finance for projects that either produce fossil fuels or burn them to generate electricity. This has forced more sub-Saharan Africans to burn wood, dung, or biomass, sources that produce more emissions, pollution, and health risks than fossil fuels. The West’s refusal to fund fossil fuel energy in Africa has also created an opportunity for China to increase its influence on the continent.
Hudson’s Zineb Riboua will host Professor Brenda Shaffer, faculty member of the US Naval Postgraduate School and senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center, to discuss international energy policy shifts that can help address the challenge.
Join Hudson Institute Senior Fellows Michael Doran and Ludovic Hood, Research Fellow Zineb Riboua, and Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of the Iran Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, for a timely discussion about the conflicts in the region and America’s strategic and diplomatic paths forward.
Join Senior Fellow Dr. Rebeccah Heinrichs and Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) for a fireside discussion on how Congress can guide American strategy, the need to modernize the defense industrial base, and the vital role of allies and partners in an unstable international environment.
Join Senior Fellow Michael Doran for a candid conversation with H.E. Narek Mkrtchyan, ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to the United States of America, as they discuss the developments, challenges, and opportunities defining the US-Armenia relationship.
Please join Hudson Institute’s China Center as Miles Yu hosts a panel with key members of Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan and the Democratic Progressive Party to examine Taiwan’s mobilization efforts against the CCP’s increasing threats.
