Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has criticized Western countries for what he calls “reprehensible double standards” in their response to the energy crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In a post on Twitter on Sunday, Museveni singled out Germany for demolishing wind turbines to allow the expansion of a coal-fired power plant as Europe battles an energy crisis sparked by the Russia/Ukraine war.
In September, Russia, hit by a series of Western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine, cut off gas supplies to Europe, leaving the region dependent on Russian oil and gas imports scrambling for alternatives.
Germany had proposed phasing out coal-fired power plants by 2030 to reduce carbon emissions. But Europe’s biggest economy has now been forced to prioritize energy security over clean energy as gas supplies from Russia freeze. Just like Germany, many other European countries are reviving coal projects as alternatives to Russian power.
Museveni, 78, says Europe’s switch to coal-based electricity generation “makes a mockery” of the West’s climate goals.
“The news from Europe that a huge wind farm is being demolished to make way for a new opencast coal mine is the reprehensible double whammy we have in Africa. It makes a mockery of Western commitments to climate targets,” the Ugandan leader said, further describing the move as “the purest hypocrisy”.
CNN has reached out to the German embassy in Uganda for comment.
In a statement released on his official website, Museveni said “Europe’s failure to meet its climate goals should not be Africa’s problem.”
The African continent remains the most vulnerable to climate change despite having the lowest emissions and contributing the least to global warming. While rich nations (which are the biggest emitters) are better equipped to manage the effects of climate change, poorer countries like those in Africa are not.
“We will not accept one rule for them and another rule for us,” said Museveni, who has ruled the east African nation for 36 years.
Uganda plans to explore its oil reserves on a commercial scale within the next three years, but a European Union parliament resolution in September warned the project would displace thousands, endanger water resources and endanger protected marine areas.
Museveni reacted to the resolution at the time, insisting that “the project will go ahead” and threatened to find new contractors if the current operators of the oil project “choose to listen to the European Parliament”.
African leaders continued to press richer nations for climate adaptation finance at the ongoing COP27 climate summit in Egypt, as many parts of the continent face severe drought, floods and other devastating effects of climate change.
Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera, who is attending the COP27 summit, said his country and other poorer countries “continue to bear the burden of carbon emissions from the biggest polluters elsewhere”.
Chakwera said he lobbied Egypt for more climate finance from wealthier nations, adding: “Despite our marginal contribution to global warming, we continue to bear the brunt of the worsening effects of climate change, with 10% of economic our losses to be due to disasters”.
A pledge by developed countries to pay $100 billion every year from 2020 to help the developing world switch from fossil fuels to clean energy has yet to be met.
