Global Green Revolution for Africa: Guardian

Africa is set to spearhead “the world’s cleanest economic revolution by using renewable energy sources to power a massive spread of urbanisation,” according to a recent report by the International Energy Agency. As a recent Guardian article confirms, according to the IEA, solar energy will power the continent’s population and industrial growth over the coming decades. Although the continent has less than half the solar power installations present in the United Kingdom, the IEA predicts a “solar boom” across Africa, which would offer hundreds of millions of people their first access to electricity. This would boost population to as many as 2 billion by 2040 with a rise of 800 million from the current numbers. Moreover, as Fatih Birol, executive director of the IEA observes, the use of fossil fuels in pursuit of this ultimate endeavor would be insignificant at 3 percent compared to the rest of the world’s contribution to global emissions over the last 100 years. –YaleGlobal