Don’t blame the activists, blame the greed behind oil and gas

AMID a climate crisis, rising energy costs and political finger-pointing, a convenient narrative is being pushed; that environmental activists are anti-development idealists whose opposition to fossil fuels is the root cause of the current energy crisis.

- PAUL WANI LADO

But this oversimplified framing not only misrepresents their goals, it distracts from the deeper structural and governance issues in our energy systems.

When energy executives or government officials blame environmental activists for South Africa’s energy crisis and accuse them of being anti-development, it is not just lazy, it is dangerous.

When proponents of oil and gas claim that opposition to fossil fuel development is sabotaging our economy and worsening energy poverty, the narrative is both false and conveniently forgetful. What it does is shift responsibility away from decades of corruption, mismanagement, and profiteering in the energy sector towards the very people fighting for a liveable future.

Let's be clear about one thing; oil and gas are not the answer to South Africa's energy crisis. If they were, we wouldn't be in this energy crisis to begin with.