nergy is an indispensable part of social, environmental, and economic development, as it is the basis for much human activity. Energy access has also been crucial to the international agenda, with 2014-2024 being the UN Decade of Sustainable Energy for all. It has generally held to be true since the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg that for Africa to reach its development goals, the whole continent will need affordable access to clean energy.
At present, the proposed energy solutions from the EU to deliver energy access in Africa fall short. EU institutions and governments have continued to finance ongoing and new fossil fuel projects since the implementation of the 2015 Paris Agreement. These projects, under the guise of ‘development’, mainly serve interests outside of Africa, doing little to meet the present and future energy needs of African communities. Instead, they lock those communities into a high-carbon future.
Decoupling Fossil Fuels From Development
At COP27, there was much concern over the European ‘Dash for Gas’ in Africa, with European leaders announcing multiple deals with countries like Egypt and Angola to increase gas production and exports. Despite Germany signing a pledge at COP26 to end foreign fossil fuel financing by the end of 2022, the German government has forged ahead with a gas project in Senegal. In addition, Italy signed an $8 billion gas deal with Libya at the start of 2023. Following Russia’s war against Ukraine and European reliance on Russian gas, it’s understandable that Europe is now considering alternative sources of energy; however, turning to Africa to meet European energy supply is not the answer. Any new gas infrastructure in Africa will take too long to build to meet short-term energy access needs in Europe. This would leave African countries with stranded assets, render their economies dependent on fossil fuels, and saddle their governments with debts for export-oriented gas production.
Europe’s ‘Dash for Gas’ has raised fundamental questions about who benefits from or is burdened by European environmental policy. These questions should be at the forefront of energy considerations, especially in the case of former colonies. For instance, in response to criticism that oil and gas production in Africa would mean a death sentence for climate targets, African leaders have pointed out the hypocrisy of western nations who have used fossil fuels as a catalyst for economic growth in their own countries. Is it fair that rich nations can burn whatever fuel they like while poorer nations have no say in the matter? Of course not. A just transition would mean European countries moving faster to renewables and decarbonising their energy supply (as they have the wealth and resources to do so) whilst also providing financial aid for African countries to increase their renewable infrastructure too.
The idea that fossil fuels and development go hand in hand is a myth. If Europe is truly committed to helping grow African economies and putting those countries on a more sustainable pathway, it must step up investments in renewable energy–not fossil fuels. The EU should pursue renewable energy policies and partnerships in Africa that promote long-term stability and tackle energy poverty while acknowledging the continent’s great clean energy potential. For example, Africa has some of the best solar and wind resources in the world, yet the continent currently receives just 2% of clean energy investments.
Examples like the Just and Green Recovery Team Europe Initiative with South Africa illustrate the path forward, laying down a renewable roadmap to decarbonise the energy sector in Africa in a sustainable and inclusive way. It is these examples which enable transgressive knowledge production and contribute to a better understanding of the impacts of EU governance, ultimately helping to build and shape resilient and dynamic environmental policies and actions.
Ultimately, the ‘Polluter Pays’ Principle must be decolonial. A decolonial approach (centered around redistribution and equity) offers a critical starting point for re-imagining the future of the EU-Africa Energy Partnerships, subsequently placing EU environmental policy on a fundamentally different–and eventually transformative–trajectory. If the EU is to enact the deeper situational awareness that it claims to strive for in its 2016 Global Strategy, it must move beyond its narrow focus on dynamics between member states to consider external borders - and more critically, its responsibility to support African nations with their environmental policies and actions.
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End the Dash for Gas
Natural gas pipeline in Botswana. Photo by Toro Tseleng on Unsplash
March 6, 2023
Access to sustainable, affordable energy is key to combating climate change, but current proposals to ensure clean energy access in Africa as it seeks to decarbonize while developing fall short. The solution is to decouple fossil fuels from development, writes Rosalind Skillen.
E
nergy is an indispensable part of social, environmental, and economic development, as it is the basis for much human activity. Energy access has also been crucial to the international agenda, with 2014-2024 being the UN Decade of Sustainable Energy for all. It has generally held to be true since the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg that for Africa to reach its development goals, the whole continent will need affordable access to clean energy.
At present, the proposed energy solutions from the EU to deliver energy access in Africa fall short. EU institutions and governments have continued to finance ongoing and new fossil fuel projects since the implementation of the 2015 Paris Agreement. These projects, under the guise of ‘development’, mainly serve interests outside of Africa, doing little to meet the present and future energy needs of African communities. Instead, they lock those communities into a high-carbon future.
Decoupling Fossil Fuels From Development
At COP27, there was much concern over the European ‘Dash for Gas’ in Africa, with European leaders announcing multiple deals with countries like Egypt and Angola to increase gas production and exports. Despite Germany signing a pledge at COP26 to end foreign fossil fuel financing by the end of 2022, the German government has forged ahead with a gas project in Senegal. In addition, Italy signed an $8 billion gas deal with Libya at the start of 2023. Following Russia’s war against Ukraine and European reliance on Russian gas, it’s understandable that Europe is now considering alternative sources of energy; however, turning to Africa to meet European energy supply is not the answer. Any new gas infrastructure in Africa will take too long to build to meet short-term energy access needs in Europe. This would leave African countries with stranded assets, render their economies dependent on fossil fuels, and saddle their governments with debts for export-oriented gas production.
Europe’s ‘Dash for Gas’ has raised fundamental questions about who benefits from or is burdened by European environmental policy. These questions should be at the forefront of energy considerations, especially in the case of former colonies. For instance, in response to criticism that oil and gas production in Africa would mean a death sentence for climate targets, African leaders have pointed out the hypocrisy of western nations who have used fossil fuels as a catalyst for economic growth in their own countries. Is it fair that rich nations can burn whatever fuel they like while poorer nations have no say in the matter? Of course not. A just transition would mean European countries moving faster to renewables and decarbonising their energy supply (as they have the wealth and resources to do so) whilst also providing financial aid for African countries to increase their renewable infrastructure too.
The idea that fossil fuels and development go hand in hand is a myth. If Europe is truly committed to helping grow African economies and putting those countries on a more sustainable pathway, it must step up investments in renewable energy–not fossil fuels. The EU should pursue renewable energy policies and partnerships in Africa that promote long-term stability and tackle energy poverty while acknowledging the continent’s great clean energy potential. For example, Africa has some of the best solar and wind resources in the world, yet the continent currently receives just 2% of clean energy investments.
Examples like the Just and Green Recovery Team Europe Initiative with South Africa illustrate the path forward, laying down a renewable roadmap to decarbonise the energy sector in Africa in a sustainable and inclusive way. It is these examples which enable transgressive knowledge production and contribute to a better understanding of the impacts of EU governance, ultimately helping to build and shape resilient and dynamic environmental policies and actions.
Ultimately, the ‘Polluter Pays’ Principle must be decolonial. A decolonial approach (centered around redistribution and equity) offers a critical starting point for re-imagining the future of the EU-Africa Energy Partnerships, subsequently placing EU environmental policy on a fundamentally different–and eventually transformative–trajectory. If the EU is to enact the deeper situational awareness that it claims to strive for in its 2016 Global Strategy, it must move beyond its narrow focus on dynamics between member states to consider external borders - and more critically, its responsibility to support African nations with their environmental policies and actions.
