Political Science, esp. Globalisation and Climate Governance
Green is a Pan-African Colour! Comparing renewable energy policies in 34 African countries
27 May 2020
Photo: Franziska Müller
Renewable energy is flourishing – and so are RE policies. Yet research on Africa's energy transition is still scarce. So how do African countries relate to renewable energy? Which RE policies can we find? How far-reaching and how just are they? These questions formed the basis for an intense stock-taking of African renewable energy policies. The GLOCALPOWER research group carried out a mapping of renewable energy policies in 34 African countries (i.e. all those who have come up with substantial legislation). Our article “Is green a Pan-African colour? Mapping African renewable energy policies and transitions in 34 countries“ was recently published in Energy Research and Social Science and is available via open access. Our findings suggest that a combination of comprehensive policies, high ownership and donor alignment, and mainstreaming of energy justice contributes to high energy sovereignty and a just transition in line with SDG7.
We can provide evidence of African energy policies covering recognitional and distributive justice, but also detected potential trade-offs between strong market orientation and energy justice. Moreover, there is a reason for the concern that financialization tendencies will put the spread of just RE policies at risk.
