Iran War Drives Africa Toward Renewable Energy and China Model

 Foreign Affairs published on 27 July 2026 an article titled "Can Renewables Industrialize Africa? The Iran War Is Driving the Continent Toward Chinese-Backed Green Energy" by Mohamed Adow, director of Power Shift Africa, a climate think tank in Kenya.

The war on Iran is accelerating a determination among African countries to reduce their dependence on imported fossil fuels and to turn toward renewable power.  As a result, African countries are now leaning toward the model advanced by China, in which abundant, low-cost electricity from renewables underpins industrialization and economic growth.

In the meantime, the United States is ceding a role in Africa's clean energy transition to China and risks losing diplomatic influence on the continent.  Washington has not grasped Africa's new energy reality. 

Financing African Energy Projects

 The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace published in November 2023 a paper titled "Who Finances Energy Projects in Africa?" by Oyintarelado Moses.  

The largest energy finance providers in Africa between 2012 and 2021 were China, World Bank, Italy, France, and the United States.  The top African recipients of energy during these years were Egypt, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, and Angola.  

Chinese Energy Financing in Africa

Boston University's Global Development Policy Center published in February 2019 a report titled "Global Risks and Investment Uncertainty: Chinese Global Energy Finance in 2018" by Xinyue Ma, Kevin P. Gallagher, and Xintong Bu.

The report notes that of China's global energy financing between 2008 and 2012, Africa received on average 7 percent of the total. Between 2013 and 2017, this percentage increased to 20 percent annually. In 2018, Africa received almost $4.8 billion of a global total of $8.6 billion or about 55 percent. Chinese energy loans to Africa in 2018 were used primarily for coal and hydropower power generation.