The world is fast transitioning towards renewable energy systems. However, in many African countries, this transition is not solving historical inequalities or socio-economic challenges. This is because moving away from fossil fuels is costly and governments have largely not involved historically disadvantaged communities in the transition.
Instead, African countries are focusing on how much clean energy technology costs and how to get companies to invest in it. Government and policymakers are overlooking concerns about social equity, environmental protection and political inclusion.
This can lead to human rights violations and protests by communities who oppose renewable energy projects because they fear a repeat of past injustices associated with extractive projects, such as losing their land.
The shift to renewable energy must be a just transition. It must not leave behind people who currently lack electricity. The justice dimension must be included in energy policies in African countries.
We are research specialists in the fields of business and human rights, law and development, resource governance, energy, environment, and African development.
We investigated how energy justice principles can guide and shape the green transition in Africa. These principles are geared towards the social, ethical and environmental aspects of producing, distributing and consuming energy. Energy justice sets out to ensure that energy is delivered to everyone sustainably.
We looked at laws, articles, research databases and government reports on energy justice. We also examined reports from African countries on the just transition, on human rights-based approaches to energy and on the role of renewable energy sources in Africa today.
About 600 million African people still lack access to reliable and affordable energy. Our research found that this energy poverty creates barriers to development and human rights concerns.
For example, it stifles industrial growth and limits the productivity of small and medium-sized businesses. It reduces agricultural efficiency (for example, irrigation systems need energy). It reduces access to education – students study by poor lighting and have no way to charge devices. Healthcare (a lack of refrigeration for vaccines) is affected. And people don’t have clean cooking technologies like electric ovens.
Our findings indicate that the transition to renewable energy must primarily aim to eradicate energy poverty. This requires careful planning, and cooperation between all organisations, communities and institutions involved in providing energy. It also needs targeted interventions to suit different African countries.
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Africa’s complicated energy transition
Africa’s energy landscape is still shaped by inequality and exclusion that dates back to colonial times. Colonial-era infrastructure and development prioritised urban centres and extractive industries, such as coal and gold mines. Vast rural populations were deprived – and remain so.
The transition must expand energy access at the same time as introducing low-carbon energy systems. This is a dual challenge which creates tensions between development needs and environmental sustainability goals. For instance, South Africa, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola rely heavily on fossil fuel revenues and extractive industries. This creates resistance to adopting renewable energy policies.
When making the change, communities dependent on industries like coal mining face job losses. They have limited opportunities to find other sources of income. Workers in fossil fuel sectors lose their jobs and don’t get enough support (like training) to find other work in renewable energy.
When this happens, food security and incomes are reduced, and rural poverty becomes worse. Some communities are displaced from their land to make way for big renewable energy projects. This weakens community cohesion and undermines trust in government and developers. Communities usually have little access to legal recourse or compensation when big companies expropriate land.
Social justice is part of energy justice. It is essential to make a concerted and transparent effort to dismantle barriers to energy justice, to include all groups who may be at the margins of society in various ways.
Unclear rules and weak government practices in many African countries also make it difficult to plan the energy transition effectively. Poor management and lack of enforcement of environmental laws add to the difficulties.
Another problem is that although developed countries have pledged financial support to African nations for the transition, the amount of money they’ve disbursed has fallen short. This leaves African nations with insufficient resources to invest in renewable energy infrastructure and the just transition.
How to end energy injustice
Our research found that it is possible for the transition to give everyone access to clean, green energy. This will happen if governments integrate energy justice into all their energy policies.
Governments can start by making sure that rural and historically disadvantaged communities are put first.
African governments should reduce their dependence on extractive industries such as mining. Investing in renewable energy industries and creating new employment opportunities through green job initiatives can help with this.
The impact of renewable energy projects on the environment and people must be carefully investigated. Communities need to be fully involved in planning large renewable energy projects. People who are displaced by energy projects must be compensated. The benefits of green energy must be shared with affected communities.
Policymakers need to create clear, fair and enforceable rules and laws to make sure that clean energy is delivered in a just way. Stronger institutions, actions to prevent corruption, and training programmes are essential to make these rules work.
- is a Research partner, Centre for Comparative Law, University of Cape Town
- is an Assistant Professor in Law, University of Huddersfield
- This article first appeared in The Conversation
