Africa’s Energy Transition: Leapfrogging the Fossil Fuel Ladder

In this episode of The ReVolting Podcast, Úna Brosnan and John MaCaskill are joined by Dr Rebekah Shirley, Deputy Director for Africa at the World Resources Institute, for a wide-ranging conversation on how energy transitions are unfolding across the African continent.Together they explore whether Africa is quietly rewriting the rules of the energy transition. From bottom-up transport electrification to the rapid emergence of electric cooking solutions, the discussion challenges the long-held assumption that countries must climb a traditional “fossil fuel ladder” before reaching clean energy.Rebekah shares insights from her work across African energy systems, explaining why electrification is often happening first in fleets, buses, and two-wheelers rather than private cars, and how distributed energy solutions are reshaping access and affordability.The conversation also tackles the harder political economy questions surrounding oil and gas producing countries such as Nigeria, Angola, Ghana, and Mozambique, examining how energy transition pathways differ when national revenues are tied to hydrocarbons.A thought-provoking episode on leapfrogging, grid economics, and why energy transitions may look far less linear than traditional models suggest.LinksRebekah Shirley website: https://rgshirley.comWRI profile: https://www.wri.org/profile/rebekah-shirleyTED Talk - Rebekah Shirley: The clean energy hub of the future: https://www.ted.com/talks/rebekah_shirley_the_clean_energy_hub_of_the_futureSkindred band: https://youtu.be/DSFnygzsLnk?is=8QIxfKxkjfchGZZz Reading ListIntegrated energy in action: Practical learnings from integrating centralized and decentralized energy delivery models in Uganda - ScienceDirect - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004225025374#abs0020 Managing grid impacts from increased electric vehicle adoption in African cities | Scientific Reports - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-75039-3Leapfrogging the darkness: contextualising the meaning of energy transitions for African countries - IOPscience - https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2516-1083/ad31b7/metaThe evolving just transition: definitions, context, and practical insights for Africa - IOPscience - https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2634-4505/ac9a69Charging Ahead: Managing Grid Impacts from Widespread EV Adoption in African Cities - Energy for Growth Hub - https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgzQfCMqcqCsQbHvMLnMRlkBJCtDwElectric transport offers Kenya a way out of its fuel crises - Business Daily - https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/bd/opinion-analysis/columnists/electric-transport-offers-kenya-a-way-out-of-its-fuel-crises-3786420#google_vignetteThree Recommendations for Meaningful Africa-Europe Partnership on Energy Transitions - Energy for Growth Hub - https://energyforgrowth.org/article/three-recommendations-for-meaningful-africa-europe-partnership-on-energy-transitions/