Summary of #57 Jusper Machogu: A climate realist in Africa

00:00:00 - 00:55:00

Jusper Machogu, a climate skeptic from Kenya, emphasizes the need for cheap, reliable, and plentiful energy in Africa, which currently suffers from energy poverty, poverty, hunger, and corruption. He cites how Africa has a population of nearly a fifth of the world but uses less than 4% of global electricity, and highlights the issues related to lack of access to electricity and clean cooking in the continent. Machogu also discusses the challenges related to electric vehicles and batteries, and highlights how the current energy crisis in Europe is affecting various industries, companies, and households. Furthermore, he advocates for GMOs as a solution to increase yields, reduce deforestation, and create jobs in the agriculture sector in Africa.

• 00:00:00 In this section, Jasper Machogu, a climate skeptic from Kenya, discusses his background as a former member of environmental conservation groups Greenpeace and Let's Do It Kenya. He explains how his experiences of seeing litter in poor areas made him question the belief that humans were destroying the planet with their use of fossil fuels and how reading Patrick Moore's book Invisible Catastrophes and discovering Alex Epstein's work led him to become a climate skeptic. He emphasizes the need for cheap, reliable, and plentiful energy in Africa, which currently suffers from energy poverty as well as poverty, hunger, and corruption.
• 00:05:00 In this section, Jusper Machogu explains the concept of energy poverty, where Africa has a population of almost a fifth of the world but consumes under 4% of global electricity. For example, an American refrigerator uses about 500 kWh per year, whilst an African would use 160-200 kWh per year. Africa has a population density of 45 people per square kilometer, compared to China's 153 and India's 464, and still has much of the arable land in the world. Jusper also highlights issues related to clean cooking, where 70% of all energy consumption in Kenya comes from burning firewood and biomass, which contributes to 3 billion people experiencing energy poverty, 600 million of whom live in Africa.
• 00:10:00 In this section, the speaker discusses the lack of access to electricity and clean cooking in Africa, highlighting how China and India have tackled the issue. The speaker also mentions the abundant natural gas resources in Africa that have not been developed yet, which could provide an additional 90 billion cubic meters of gas a year by 2030. However, the speaker notes that the use of these resources will add emissions to Africa's stimulative data and bring its share of global emissions to a mere 3.5 percent. The speaker also addresses climate change and how the observed trends are different from climate models. They argue that predicting weather patterns for 30 years is unimaginable, and that climate models have been proved to be faulty.
• 00:15:00 In this section, Jusper Machogu discusses carbon dioxide and its impact on the environment, stating that it has led to an increase in global greenery. He then goes on to discuss the decrease in climate-related deaths over the past 120 years, as well as the increase in life expectancy and the decrease in global poverty. Machogu argues that the overall trend has been positive and despite experiencing droughts and weather disasters, these events have become less frequent and less deadly. He believes that humanity is thriving, and the future looks bright for Africa and the rest of the world.
• 00:20:00 In this section, Jusper Machogu, a climate realist in Africa, discusses the misconceptions around climate change and renewable energy. He provides data showing that cold weather kills more people globally than heat, and extreme weather events such as droughts, floods, and wildfires have not increased. Machogu also points out that wind and solar energy make up only 2-3% of global energy consumption, and 90% of solar is manufactured in Asia using cheap labor, often children. Additionally, electric vehicles are only affordable for a small portion of the population and subsidies for them come from the rest of the population. The UN estimates that without global warming, the average person would be 450% richer in 2100, and achieving ambitious targets on increasing electric car ownership will reduce CO2 emissions by 235 million tons, which reduces global temperatures by about 1/10 of a degree according to the UN climate final standard model.
• 00:25:00 In this section, the speaker discusses the challenges related to electric vehicles and batteries. The production of an electric vehicle requires the extraction and processing of around 225 tons of raw materials, while only a small percentage of lithium-ion batteries are being recycled, leading to high prices for replacement. Furthermore, the energy density of batteries is low compared to diesel and gasoline, which could become a problem as more people switch to electric vehicles. The speaker also highlights the irony of European countries embracing net-zero policies while facing an energy crisis, where prices for wood and other alternative fuels have increased significantly, resulting in panic buying and even export bans.
• 00:30:00 In this section, Jusper Machogu discusses the current energy crisis in Europe and how it is affecting various industries, companies, and households. He cites examples such as Duralex altering production due to soaring energy costs, Polish homeowners turning to burning anything that can be used, and steel production halting. Despite Germany being a leader in renewable energy and spending a significant amount of money to bring it up, it still has among the highest electricity prices in the EU. Jusper also mentions a report by the Analysis and Policy Observatory that predicts a fall in electricity bills in Australia due to further declines in wholesale electricity prices as more renewable energy generation comes online.
• 00:35:00 In this section, Jusper Machogu discusses the impacts of renewable energy on electricity prices in Australia and addresses the misconception that ending world hunger would be detrimental to those in affluent societies. He also highlights South Africa’s reliance on coal and how Rich Nations are urging them to stop using it, despite South Africa having an abundant supply. Machogu argues that Africa is not the culprit for using fossil fuels and points out that China has not been pressured by Western nations to reduce their use of coal, despite opening more coal power plants than the rest of the world combined. He notes that China has helped reduce extreme poverty rates by 94% between 1980 and present day.
• 00:40:00 In this section, Jusper Machogu discusses the role of China in manufacturing solar panels and the transfer of manufacturing by rich nations to China, which has led to China producing goods at a cheaper cost using fossil fuels. He notes that China is responsible for 53% of carbon emissions, but Africa is not even visible on the map due to contributing very little. Machogu argues that fossil fuels are going to save Africa, with modern civilization relying heavily on oil-based energy for basic needs such as clothing, shelter, and food production. He emphasizes that agriculture in Africa requires fossil fuels for producing fertilizers and pesticides, and plastic components of hospital equipment are essential tools for health remedies.
• 00:45:00 In this section, Jusper Machogu discusses the importance of agriculture in Africa and the need for improvements in areas such as value addition, irrigation, mechanization, fertilizer application, and post-harvest processes. He suggests that agriculture has the potential to lift Africa out of poverty and that improvements in these areas could lead to higher yields and greater food security. Machogu highlights the need for increased mechanization and fertilizer application and warns against a complete shift to organic farming, as seen in Sri Lanka, which resulted in decreased yields and increased poverty.
• 00:50:00 In this section, Jusper Machogu discusses the issues of food waste and the potential benefits of GMO crops in African agriculture. He highlights the fact that a third of all food produced is lost in his region and stresses the importance of post-harvest processing to reduce waste. Furthermore, he advocates for GMOs as a solution to increase yields, reduce deforestation, and create jobs in the agriculture sector. Machogu believes that Africa has the potential to become a great nation due to its abundance of natural resources and arable land, and stresses the need for a younger generation to step up and lead. He also raises concerns about the consequences of Net Zero policies and questions the feasibility of living a life without owning anything.
• 00:55:00 In this section, Jusper Machogu expresses his gratitude towards Tom for giving him the chance to share his opinions and ideas with a larger audience. He suggests that people follow him on Twitter and mentions his willingness to receive direct messages from users. Machogu also praises Tom's podcast for featuring educative individuals and mentions that he has turned on notifications for the channel.