Most African governments see biofuels as a potential for increasing agricultural productivity and export incomes and thus strengthening their national economies, improving energy balances and rural employment. At the same time climate change may be addressed through reduction of green house gas emissions. There are, however, a number of uncertainties mounting that challenge this scenario. Using in-depth African case studies this book addresses this knowledge gap by examining the impacts of large-scale biofuel production on African agriculture in regard to vital land outsourcing and food security issues. The surge for African biofuels has also opened space for private investors both domestic and external to multiply and network 'independently' of the state. The biofuel expansion thus generates new economic alliances and production relations, resulting in new forms of inclusions and exclusions within the rural population. 256pp, UK. ZED BOOKS.

One of the world's leading strategists on global oil exploration turns his critical eye to Africa's oil prize, to produce this definitive account of the issues and misunderstandings in Africa's oil and gas game. Based on thirty years in the global oil game, intimate knowledge of African history and direct experience of over forty countries, he argues that Africa's political and economic flaws are not the whole story. Duncan Clarke begins by placing African oil issues in historical context before tackling issues of power, nationalism and different parties' strategies for control that have led to today's oil game. Index, notes, maps, 674pp, UK. ATLANTIC BOOKS.

Provides a theoretical framework for understanding electricity and capitalism in Africa, followed by a series of case studies that examine different aspects of electricity supply and consumption. Written by leading academics and activists, it offers overview of one of the most important developments in Africa today - with direct implications for health, gender equity, environmental sustainability and socio-economic justice. From nuclear power through prepaid electricity meters to the massive dam projects taking place in central Africa, an understanding of electricity reforms on the continent help shape our insights into development debates in Africa, particularly the expansion of neoliberal capitalism more generally. 536pp, UK. HUMAN SCIENCES RESEARCH COUNCIL.

New, updated edition. Explores the crisis in the fossil fuels that define modern life. Without them, mass produced food and clothing, international travel and cars, become practically impossible. Yet our reliance on fossil fuels is responsible for massive environmental damage, and increasing economic and political instability. The international range of contributors to this book provide a truly global perspective on the dangers inherent in our over consumption of oil, gas and coal. Index, tables, 325pp, UK. PLUTO PRESS.

Case studies attempting to answer these questions: What can indigenous people do when faced with the destruction of their natural and social habitats? And how do oil companies respond to the various forms of local and indigenous resistance to their activities? The eight case studies deal with oil-producing regions in Alaska, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru, Colombia, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea and West Siberia and encompass 18 indigenous population groups. 612pp, GERMANY. LIT VERLAG.

Access to oil and natural gas, and their prices, have been axes of geo political and economic strategy for a century. This book covers the shifting structure of the global oil and gas economy. It highlights the domestic inequality, civil conflict and widespread poverty that dependence on oil exports inflicts on developing countries and the strategies of wealthy countries (especially the United States) to control oil rich regions. Includes extensive references to Algeria, Angola, Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria. Index, notes, tables, 220pp, UK. ZED BOOKS.

Until recently, oil companies saw the socioeconomic consequences of their operations in developing countries as beyond their control. But with mounting activist pressure at home, growing interest in corporate social responsibility, and the spiraling costs of conflict in production areas, the oil industry is now playing an increasing role in how a country's oil and gas are extracted, how its people fare, and ultimately, where the revenues go. Drawing on years of field experience and new data from corporations, NGOs, and hundreds of personal interviews, the author explores the links between oil and conflict, and changing notions and forms of corporate responsibility in three oil-dependent countries: Angola, Azerbaijan, and Sudan. Index, bib, notes, 234pp, USA. UNITED STATES INSTITUTE FOR PEACE PRESS.

New in paperback. An explosive story in which journalist Nicholas Shaxson speaks with African presidents, oil barons and ordinary citizens to expose how rich countries' oil companies exploit African nations, leaving them ravaged, corrupt, and penniless. 288pp, UK. PALGRAVE.

A study of how to provide energy services to homes without national grid connection, covering all the essentials including needs assessment, economics, technology choice, and expanding the current uses of wind technology into new areas with details all practical aspects plus related issues such as scaling up the project and business development. This book provides a concise guide to all the essential steps for setting up wind business services in developing countries. 64pp, UK. ITDG PUBLISHING, 1853395552

Comparative study of the impact of Asian companies on the two leading oil producing countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria and Angola. Shows that Asian companies that gained a foothold in the Nigerian oil sector in return for their commitments to invest in downstream and infrastructure projects failed to understand the political context of the time. Considers why, in contrast, the Chinese oil strategy has been so successful in Angola to the detriment of other Asian national oil companies and international oil companies; how Angola emerged as the second largest supplier of oil to China in 2008; how Chinese oil companies have negotiated deals; and what the benefits are for Angola. 48pp, UK. CHATHAM HOUSE.