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.