Climate change obstruction in Africa: the case of African Petroleum Producers Organization (APPO)

Legacy emissions, climate colonialism, and climate apartheid are central themes in contemporary discussions surrounding climate action in Africa. Nevertheless, there exists a scarcity of research focused on climate obstruction within the continent. Critical discourse analysis was employed to identify discursive constructions of climate change obstruction by the African Petroleum Producers Organization (APPO) and its representatives. The findings show that APPO does not engage in primary obstruction, as it accepts the scientific consensus on climate change. Moreover, the organization neither embraces a sense of doom nor asserts that change is unattainable. Instead, its narratives are shaped by ideological appeals to justice, economic concerns over revenue dependence and energy poverty, and political arguments about sovereignty and fairness. These elements underpin forms of secondary obstruction and tertiary obstruction. In this way, APPO illustrates how climate delayism in Africa arises less from denial than from efforts to reconcile climate responsibility with developmental urgency. In addition to contributing to the emerging scholarship on climate obstruction in the Global South, this paper argues for greater attention to the severe impacts of climate change faced by communities and nations in Africa as a strategic approach to counteract climate obstruction on the continent.